By Lumos Labs Science Associate, Paul Li, MS Neuroscience.
Movies like Being John Malkovich are based on the idea that one might be able to experience what another human’s mind is visualizing. Most would think that such movies are pure fantasy and science fiction, but researchers at U.C. Berkeley are one step closer to making this a reality.
Using a computational model calibrated to each individual subject, Professor Jack Gallant and his research team were able to use brain activity (measured with fMRI) to identify which of a large set of images was seen by a subject. Importantly, none of the images in the set had been previously seen by the subject, demonstrating the ability to generalize to novel situations. Though performance isn’t yet perfect, it’s impressive. Accuracy ranges from 80% when viewing 1,000 images, to 90% accuracy when viewing 120 images.
Dr. Gallant said, “there may theoretically be sufficient information available to decode memory, imagery and dreams some day, but it will likely be many decades before this is really possible.”
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There is a difference between what is seen by the optic nerve - the eye, versus what is seen in the minds eye with physical eyes shut. How can this study better differentiate and examine what is the brain versus the eye’s experience.
By now, meditators have proven the power of the minds eye to harness the entire brain. In fact they are asked NOT to meditate when doing nurofeedabck treatments so the brain is free to respond.
In fact, people who are designing therapies for the brain continue to benchmark peak brain performance attributes with brains of experienced meditators.
So where is the acknowledgement in brain research that this is an established path to understanding how the brain works?
What other benchmark is out there of a peak brain besides a meditator? Before we lose the experience of lifetime meditators, lets welcome them into brain research and learn what we can from the effects of meditation on the brain.
For example, why not compare the results given in experiments above with subjects asked to focus on an image in their minds eye?
As for the connection between meditation and religion - you’ll find that most longtime meditators are some of the most independent minded people you will meet.
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