Completely 'locked-in' patients can communicate [read: mind-reading computers are a thing now] - Polidicks

[quote]Patients with absolutely no control over their body have finally been able to communicate, say scientists. [B]A brain-computer interface was used to read the thoughts of patients[/B] to answer basic yes-or-no questions. One man was able to repeatedly refuse permission for his daughter to get married. The study on four patients in Switzerland - [url=http://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.1002593]published in PLOS Biology[/url] - also showed they were happy despite the effects of being "locked-in". The patients all had advanced forms of [B]amyotrophic lateral sclerosis[/B], in which the brain loses the ability to control muscles. It eventually traps people in their own body - [B]they are able to think, but incapable of moving or talking.[/B] When they become "locked in", it can still be possible to develop ways of communication using eye movements. But all the patients in the study, at the Wyss Center in Switzerland, were "completely locked in" and could not even move their eyes. [B]Brain signals[/B] The activity of brain cells can change oxygen levels in the blood, which in turn changes the colour of the blood. And scientists were able to peer inside the brain using light to detect the blood's colour, through a technique called near-infrared spectroscopy. They then asked the patients yes-or-no questions such as: "Your husband's name is Joachim?" to train a computer to interpret the brain signals. The system achieved an accuracy of about 75%. It means questions need to be asked repeatedly in order to be certain of a patient's answer.[/quote] Source: [url]http://www.bbc.com/news/health-38761461[/url] :mindblown:

That's pretty dope. Makes me wonder about what other applications this sort of technology could have once it has had more work done on it.

...come to think of it this might not actually be too different from previously existing BCIs, but it's still pretty swag.

[QUOTE]One man was able to repeatedly refuse permission for his daughter to get married.[/QUOTE] I don't have anything witty for this

[QUOTE=ScottyWired;51760089]I don't have anything witty for this[/QUOTE] Probably just a dad joke or a dad that loves to troll his daughter.

Dad jokes are stronger than even amyotrophic lateral sclerosis it seems

Changes in blood color? That seems like an awfully analog way. Didn't they have technology to detect brainwave patterns?

[QUOTE=aurum481;51760148]Changes in blood color? That seems like an awfully analog way. Didn't they have technology to detect brainwave patterns?[/QUOTE] The brain is a really fuckin' weird and complex organ and we don't know how large parts of it work. I think accurate reading of brainwave patterns are still a ways off.

Not sure if this is the same thing, but I heard somewhere how they can tell the difference in brain activity from imagination. Rather than "thinking yes", doctors ask "imagine you're walking through your house for yes or playing tennis for no"

[QUOTE=seba079;51760097]Dad jokes are stronger than even amyotrophic lateral sclerosis it seems[/QUOTE] Fucking Zing.

[QUOTE=Darth_Toast;51760194]Not sure if this is the same thing, but I heard somewhere how they can tell the difference in brain activity from imagination. Rather than "thinking yes", doctors ask "imagine you're walking through your house for yes or playing tennis for no"[/QUOTE] I'm not clued up on neurology, but I've heard of a similar thing where people with really good memories explain that they create 'memory palaces' where they create physical areas in their mind and place the items they need to remember in different rooms. There might be some kind of overlap there, maybe.

[QUOTE=DrTaxi;51760076]The study on four patients in Switzerland - published in PLOS Biology - also showed they were happy despite the effects of being "locked-in".[/QUOTE] I find this the most interesting. I can probobly bet that this is a pretty big fear for most people. Alot of people feel as though they would never be able to take it, me included. "if that happened to me I would just commit suicide" I heard someone say once. Human beings are so strong, and while I feel awful for those stricken with this, at the same time I can't help but think about how incredible it is that human beings can be happy even in the toughest situations.

[QUOTE=Mr Kotov;51760228]I'm not clued up on neurology, but I've heard of a similar thing where people with really good memories explain that they create 'memory palaces' where they create physical areas in their mind and place the items they need to remember in different rooms. There might be some kind of overlap there, maybe.[/QUOTE] Isn't that from Katherine Kerr's Fantasy series, [I]The Deverry Cycle[/I]? Or did she take inspiration from something she read while creating that description? There's mentioning of characters invading other's "Memory Palaces" and moving stuff around in that series.

[QUOTE=aurum481;51760148]Changes in blood color? That seems like an awfully analog way. Didn't they have technology to detect brainwave patterns?[/QUOTE] We do, BCI with electrode arrays have better accuracy however they're awfully invasive (Surgical implant of the array under the skull cap). And external electrodes are highly inaccurate for anything more than just measuring brainwave frequency. This seems to be a fairly uninvasive tech and the same tech that is used to visualize your veins on your arm: [img_thumb]http://i.imgur.com/VVOyGJO.jpg[/img_thumb]

[QUOTE=seba079;51760097]Dad jokes are stronger than even amyotrophic lateral sclerosis it seems[/QUOTE] "I'm so sad that this is how dad is now." "HELLO SO SAD, I'M DAD."

Think of the therapy applications.

Lovely stuff! Wrote a paper on Niels Birbaumer and his brain-computer interface he used in the late 90's to help locked-in people to write messages to the outside world.

[QUOTE=Mr_Plumrich;51760302]Isn't that from Katherine Kerr's Fantasy series, [I]The Deverry Cycle[/I]? Or did she take inspiration from something she read while creating that description? There's mentioning of characters invading other's "Memory Palaces" and moving stuff around in that series.[/QUOTE] I've not heard of that book before, but I'm sure that it's a real thing (or is at least claimed to be). A more formal name for it is the method of loci.

[QUOTE=Mr Kotov;51760413]I've not heard of that book before, but I'm sure that it's a real thing (or is at least claimed to be). A more formal name for it is the method of loci.[/QUOTE] Emphasis on method: It's a mental model you can use to more easily intentionally remember things on the fly, but not a representation of how brains actually store information in most cases.

[QUOTE=faolco1;51760273]I find this the most interesting. I can probobly bet that this is a pretty big fear for most people. Alot of people feel as though they would never be able to take it, me included. "if that happened to me I would just commit suicide" I heard someone say once. Human beings are so strong, and while I feel awful for those stricken with this, at the same time I can't help but think about how incredible it is that human beings can be happy even in the toughest situations.[/QUOTE] I'd [I]want[/I] to commit suicide for sure but that seems a bit difficult when the most you can do with your body is move your eyes.

[QUOTE=GHOST!!!!;51760207]Fucking Zing.[/QUOTE] That's not what a zinger is.

[quote]It eventually traps people in their own body - they are able to think, but incapable of moving or talking.[/quote] This sounds like a nightmare.

[QUOTE=OvB;51760606]This sounds like a nightmare.[/QUOTE] Welcome to sclerosis.

Literally my nightmare. I'm glad they've made such huge advances with this communication tech.

i love how they asked the one patient if her daughter could marry her boyfriend, she said No! every time

This is almost just like the episode San Junipero from Black Mirror

Mind control 0.5 And now waiting non-cybernetic version for future.

[QUOTE=ScottyWired;51760089]I don't have anything witty for this[/QUOTE] "Try n fuckin stop me dad"

Imagine how you would feel if you performed degenerate stuff in front of the person or if you raped them. It'd be like if you molested your cat all your life then suddenly a wizard walks into your room and turns it into a human. #SweatingBuckets #JailTime [highlight](User was banned for this post ("W-what?" - Craptasket))[/highlight] [highlight](User was permabanned for this post ("Gimmick" - BANNED USER))[/highlight]

[QUOTE=TwoKinds;51761455]Imagine how you would feel if you performed degenerate stuff in front of the person or if you raped them. It'd be like if you molested your cat all your life then suddenly a wizard walks into your room and turns it into a human. #SweatingBuckets #JailTime[/QUOTE] Uhh.. What?