Mind Reading with Functional MRI

March 6, 2008 | Source: Technology Review

University of California, Berkeley scientists can accurately predict which of a thousand pictures a person is looking at by analyzing brain activity, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

The scientists first recorded visual cortex activity as subjects looked at several thousand randomly selected pictures. The researchers then developed a computer model that would predict the pattern of brain activity triggered by any image.

When volunteers were later shown a new image not included in the first set, the computer model was able to correctly predict which picture out of 120 or 1,000 possibilities the person looked at, with 90 or 80 percent accuracy, respectively.