Is Interbrain Communication Possible At A Distance?
Can it be possible for two individuals to communicate at a distance? This is a question that seems to only have an affirmative answer in science fiction movies. But neuroscience is studying this possibility, which increasingly has scientific support.
The brain generates electrical energy as a result of millions of operations and functions carried out by a system of electro-chemical circuits 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, its functioning and how to influence it.
Some of the various non-invasive or low-invasive methods that allow us to record brain activity or influence it are electroencephalography (EEG) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Broadly speaking, EEG allows us to record and measure brain electrical activity, while Through TMS we can temporarily influence and modify certain neuronal activity, exciting or inhibiting certain brain regions
Manipulation of brain activity
What does recent research show about advances in interpreting and manipulating brain activity?
Today, it has been shown that through an EEG it is possible to decipher simple thoughts, such as knowing if the person is imagining that they are moving any part of their body. This is because, when we imagine a voluntary movement (without carrying it out), certain neural circuits are activated 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 Alejandro Riera (Physicist, PhD in neurosciences and researcher in starlab) at the last spring meeting of the SCNP, “we are beginning to crack the neural code.”
Taking this concept into account, what would happen if we could send or “inject” this information to another brain? Could we achieve interbrain communication at a distance?
Communicating two brains with each other
Although all this may sound more like a science fiction movie to us, on March 28, 2014 The first experiment in history was carried out in which two people shared a conscious thought in a direct way between brain-brain. Neuroscientist Carles Grau, emeritus professor at the UB and scientific advisor to the company starlaband the physicist and mathematician Giulio Ruffini from the company starlab and 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 transmitter electrodes and its EEG recording, this thought of the word “hello” could be encoded and transformed into a 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 whereby, when the sender thought about moving his hand, the interface recorded a “1”, and when he thought about moving his foot, it recorded a “0”, until the entire 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 blindfold, 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 the entire message is decoded. To achieve this communication they had to previously undergo training and knowledge of the binary code for months (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, inter-subject communication has been demonstrated through the use of the computational alphabet, a fact that brings us closer to a vision of the human being as a cybernetic organism, or cyborg in a technological society.
Future lines of research
For now, we may be able to transmit certain thoughts, but what are we trying 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 aim to direct and non-invasive communication of emotions and feelings It is even expected that computers can interact directly with the human brain.
An improvement is also intended in the clinical setting, treating diseases in which the subject is unable to modulate their thoughts, as can occur in depression, pain, psychotic or obsessive-compulsive thoughts. Finally, research is also being done to achieve bidirectional communication in which the same subject can send and receive the message, that is, integrate EEG and TMS in each subject.
Doubts and possibilities of interbrain communication
What would be the technological impact on society? There are several ethical considerations that must be formulated around the possibility of interbrain communication.
Some of the ethical and moral questions that may arise when thinking about the future development of innovative techniques that allow a more comprehensive manipulation of brain activity are already being debated and studied.
What positive and negative consequences would emerge if the neural code were decoded? Would it be a benefit, or would it rather harm us? Who would it really benefit and who would it harm? What would become of “freedom of thought”? , To what extent would our personality continue to be “ours”? Where should the limits of transhumanism be established? Would it be available to everyone?…
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, however We must 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.”
