Hmmm. I wonder what sort of prediction one could make by observing the
monkeys' publicly observable behavior prior to its choice.
Plus, what could this possibly mean?:
The monkeys were trained to think about a particular point in their visual
field before reaching for it while the researchers recorded signals in an
area Andersen calls the "reach region".
Granted, it is the popular press talking here.
"Allen L. Barker" <alb at datafilter.com> wrote in message
news:38jUc.80$2L3.78 at newsread3.news.atl.earthlink.net...
>>> [Note the references to applications of the techniques to the
> language areas of the brain to decode what words a person is
> thinking.]
>>> -----------------------------------------------------------
>> Brain implants 'read' monkey minds
>http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99996127> 19:00 08 July 04
> NewScientist.com news service
>> Brain implants have been used to "read the minds" of monkeys to
> predict what they are about to do and even how enthusiastic they are
> about doing it.
>> It is the first time such high level cognitive brain signals have been
> decoded and could ultimately lead to more natural thought-activated
> prosthetic devices for people with paralysis, says Richard Andersen
> project leader at the California Institute of Technology, in Pasadena,
> US.
>> By decoding the signals from 96 electrodes in a region of the brain
> just above the ear -- called the parietal cortex -- the researchers
> were able to predict 67 per cent of the time where in their visual
> field trained monkeys were planning to reach.
>> They also found that this accuracy could be improved to about 88 per
> cent when the monkeys expected a reward for carrying out the task.
>> The team were even able to predict what sort of reward the monkeys
> were expecting - whether it was juice or just plain water -- from
> their brain signals.
>> "In the future you could apply this cognitive approach to language
> areas of the brain," says Andersen. By doing so it may be possible to
> decode the words someone was thinking, he says.
>> [...]
>> -----------------------------------------------------------
>> Neuroscientists Demonstrate New Way to Control Prosthetic Device
> with Brain Signals
>http://pr.caltech.edu/media/Press_Releases/PR12553.html>> PASADENA, Calif.--Another milestone has been achieved in the quest to
> create prosthetic devices operated by brain activity. In the July 9
> issue of the journal Science, California Institute of Technology
> neuroscientists Sam Musallam, Brian Corneil, Bradley Greger, Hans
> Scherberger, and Richard Andersen report on the Andersen lab's success
> in getting monkeys to move the cursor on a computer screen by merely
> thinking about a goal they would like to achieve, and assigning a
> value to the goal.
>> The research holds significant promise for neural prosthetic devices,
> Andersen says, because the "goal signals" from the brain will permit
> paralyzed patients to operate computers, robots, motorized
> wheelchairs--and perhaps someday even automobiles. The "value signals"
> complement the goal signals by allowing the paralyzed patients'
> preferences and motivations to be monitored continuously.
>> According to Musallam, the work is exciting "because it shows that a
> variety of thoughts can be recorded and used to control an interface
> between the brain and a machine."
>> The Andersen lab's new approach departs from earlier work on the
> neural control of prosthetic devices in that most previous results
> have relied on signals from the motor cortex of the brain used for
> controlling the limb. Andersen says the new study demonstrates that
> higher-level signals, also referred to as cognitive signals, emanating
> from the posterior parietal cortex and the high-level premotor cortex
> (both involved in higher brain functions related to movement
> planning), can be decoded for control of prosthetic devices.
>> The study involved three monkeys that were each trained to operate a
> computer cursor by merely "thinking about it," Andersen explains. "We
> have him think about positioning a cursor at a particular goal
> location on a computer screen, and then decode his thoughts. He thinks
> about reaching there, but doesn't actually reach, and if he thinks
> about it accurately, he's rewarded."
>> Combined with the goal task, the monkey is also told what reward to
> expect for correctly performing the task. Examples of variation in the
> reward are the type of juice, the size of the reward, and how often it
> can be given, Andersen says. The researchers are able to predict what
> each monkey expects to get if he thinks about the task in the correct
> way. The monkey's expectation of the value of the reward provides a
> signal that can be employed in the control of neural prosthetics.
>> This type of signal processing may have great value in the operation
> of prosthetic devices because, once the patient's goals are decoded,
> then the devices' computational system can perform the lower-level
> calculations needed to run the devices. In other words, a "smart
> robot" that was provided a goal signal from the brain of a patient
> could use this signal to trigger the calculation of trajectory signals
> for movement to be accomplished.
>> Since the brain signals are high-level and abstract, they are
> versatile and can be used to operate a number of devices. As for the
> value signals, Andersen says these might be useful in the continuous
> monitoring of the patients to know their preferences and moods much
> more effectively than currently possible.
>> "These signals could also be rapidly adjusted by changing parameters
> of the task to expedite the learning that patients must do in order to
> use an external device," Andersen says. "The result suggests that a
> large variety of cognitive signals could be interpreted, which could
> lead, for instance, to voice devices that operate by the patients'
> merely thinking about the words they want to speak."
>> Andersen is the Boswell Professor of Neuroscience at Caltech. Musallam
> and Greger are both postdoctoral fellows in biology at Caltech;
> Corneil is a former researcher in Andersen's lab who is now at the
> University of Western Ontario; and Scherberger, a former Caltech
> researcher, is now at the Institute of Neuroinformatics in Zurich,
> Switzerland.
>> Contact: Robert Tindol (626) 395-3631 tindol at caltech.edu>> -----------------------------------------------------------
>> Center for
> Neuromorphic
> Systems Engineering
> an NSF-sponsored research center
>http://www.cnse.caltech.edu/index.html> California Institute of Technology
> Division of Engineering and Applied Science
>> -----------------------------------------------------------
>>>> --
> Mind Control: TT&P ==> http://www.datafilter.com/mc> Home page: http://www.datafilter.com/alb> Allen Barker
>