Is distance intercerebral communication possible?

Can it be possible that two individuals can communicate remotely? This is a question that seems to only have an affirmative answer in science fiction movies. But the neuroscience is studying this possibility, which is increasingly supported by scientific evidence.

The brain as an energy generator

The brain generates electrical energy as a result of millions of operations and functions carried out by an electro-chemical circuitry through which information is transmitted. Therefore, it is easy to think about the possibility of analyzing it or influencing it through electronic devices. Currently, thanks to research and advances in new technologies, we know more about our brain, how it works and how to influence it.

Some of the various non-invasive or low-invasiveness methods that allow us to record activity brain or influence it are electroencephalography (EEG) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (EMT). Broadly speaking, EEG allows us to record and measure brain electrical activity, while Through EMT we can influence and temporarily modify certain neuronal activity by exciting or inhibiting certain brain regions

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Manipulation of brain activity

What does recent research show about advances in the interpretation and manipulation of brain activity?

Today, it has been shown that through an EEG simple thoughts can be deciphered, for example, to know if the person is imagining that he moves any part of her body. This is because, when we imagine a voluntary movement (without carrying it out), certain neural circuits in our motor cortex, responsible for controlling, planning and executing our movements. Thus, through EEG we can receive certain information about what the person is imagining or thinking and, in some way, as mentioned by Alejandro Riera (Physicist, PhD in neuroscience and researcher in Starlab) at the last spring meeting of the SCNP, "we are beginning to crack the neural code."

With this concept in mind, what if we could send or "inject" this information to another brain? Could we achieve inter-brain communication at a distance?

Communicating two brains with each other

Although all this may sound more like a science fiction movie, on March 28, 2014 the first experiment in history was carried out in which two people shared a conscious thought in a direct brain-brain way. The neuroscientist Carles grau, emeritus professor at the UB and scientific advisor to the company Starlab, and the physicist and mathematician Giulio Ruffini, of the company Starlab Y Neuroelectrics from Barcelona, ​​they communicated at great distances with their brains. This communication was made 7,800km away since the sender was in India and the receiver in France. In this case, the word transmitted was "hello."

Through the helmet with electrodes of the emitter and its recording in EEG it was possible to encode this thought of the word "Hello" and transform it into binary code (made up of ones and zeros) through a Brain Computer Interface (BCI). This transformation to a computational alphabet was achieved by establishing a system by which, when the issuer thought of moving the hand, the interface registered a "1", and when I thought about moving the foot, it registered a "0", until the whole word was encoded. In total 140 bits were transmitted with an error range of only 1-4%. By means of the Computer Brain Interface (CBI) and through the EMT, the receiver, who had his eyes covered with a bandage, received a list of bits interpreting a "1" when he saw phosphenes (sensation of seeing lights) and a "0" when he did not receive phosphenes, and so on until he decoded all the message. To achieve this communication, they had to carry out previously and for months a training and knowledge of the binary code (Grau et al., 2014).

The present study states that it is possible to unite two human minds through the integration of these two neurotechnologies (BCI and CBI) in a non-invasive way, consciously and with a cortical basis (Grau et al., 2014). Likewise, through this research an inter-subject communication has been demonstrated through the use of the alphabet computational, fact that brings us closer to a vision of the human being as a cybernetic organism, or cyborg in a society technological.

Future lines of research

For now, we may be able to convey certain thoughts, but what do you hope to achieve in the future?

After this pioneering research, such as that of Grau and Ruffini (2014), future lines of research have been opened, such as those that seek the direct and non-invasive communication of emotions and feelings. Computers are even expected to be able to interact directly with the human brain.

An improvement in the clinical setting, treating diseases in which the subject is unable to modulate his thoughts, such as depression, pain, psychotic or obsessive compulsive thoughts. Finally, research is also being carried out to achieve two-way communication in which the same subject can emit and receive the message, that is, integrate the EEG and TMS in each subject.

Doubts and possibilities of intercerebral communication

What would be the technological impact on society? Several are the ethical considerations that must be formulated around the possibility of intercerebral communication.

Some of the ethical and moral questions that may arise when thinking about the future development of techniques innovations that allow more comprehensive manipulation of brain activity are already being debated and studied.

What positive and negative consequences would arise if the neural code were decoded? Would it be a benefit, or would it be better for us? Would it harm?, Who would it really benefit and who would it harm?, What would be the “freedom of thought”? personality Would it continue to be “ours”? Where should the limits of transhumanism be established? Would it be within everyone's reach ...

It is clear that the world is advancing by leaps and bounds, we are evolving and entering a field full of possibilities that can benefit our species and improve the quality of life, without embargo do not forget the importance and need to act with humility, equality, justice and responsibility so that transhumanism, as Francis Fukuyama would say, does not end up being "the most dangerous idea in the world."

Bibliographic references:

• Grau, C., Ginhoux, R., Riera, A., Nguyen, TL., Chauvat, H., Berg, M.,... & Ruffini, G. (2014) Conscious Brain-to-Brain Communication in Humans Using Non-Invasive Technologies. PLoS ONE 9 (8): e105225. doi: 10.1371 / journal.pone.0105225