The Brain Scan That Tells You Exactly What's on Your Mind

by David Derbyshire

Scientists have developed a mind-reading technique that lets them peer into someone’s head – and predict what they are thinking.

In tests using brain scanners, researchers were able to guess correctly which one of two images a volunteer was thinking about 80 per cent of the time.

It is the latest in a series of studies designed to show how scans can reveal our innermost thoughts.

The experiment used a fMRI – or functional magnetic resonance imaging – scanner, normally found in hospitals.

Dr Stephanie Harrison, who led the study at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, in the U.S., showed six volunteers different patterns on a computer screen while their brains were being monitored.

Read the rest of the article

March 20, 2009

Copyright © 2009 Daily Mail