It's not quite mind reading, but
it's close: scientists have been able to identify songs people are listening to
just by using fMRI scans of their brains, which measure blood flow and brain
activity. The research promises to help us understand both how the mind reacts
to music and how future brain interfaces could be developed to help people who
can't communicate in the usual way (i.e. locked-in syndrome). Further down the
line we could even be composing songs using our thoughts, according to the
international team of researchers behind the study, though that kind of sci-fi
concept is still some time away. The experiments relied on an encoding-decoding
model, where a computer system monitored the brain activity patterns caused by
particular songs – which parts of the mind lit up and when – and then tried to
identify the right song again just from the fMRI data. Six volunteers were
played 40 pieces of music covering classical music, rock, pop, jazz, and
others. Software hooked up to the fMRI scanner was trained to measure brain
activity against musical features including tonality, dynamics, rhythm and
timbre. When the analysis was complete, some of the tunes were repeated, and
the computer system had to guess which songs were chosen. When the computer was
given a straightforward A or B choice, it picked the right one up to 85 percent
of the time.
The experiment was then widened
so the software system had to pick the right song out of ten possible options,
using only the brain scan data of the listener to go off. This time, the
computer got it right 74 percent of the time. Among the other findings from the
study was the way in which listeners didn't really show a 'hemispheric
preference' for musical processing – there was no bias towards the left or
right-hand side of the brain. While this isn't the first time scientists have
tried to map songs against brain activity, this particular experiment does go
into greater depth with a wider choice of songs and a more varied playlist than
previous research did. Further down the line, the researchers say, this kind of
technique could be used to work out which hooks and melodies people like best,
and why some people can really fall in love with a song while it leaves others
cold. The study is part of a wider effort to understand more about the effect
music can have on us, with recent research looking at how certain music boosts
productivity, and the way in which changes in brain activity can actually alter
our taste in music. Eventually, the new technique could even be applied to help
people who have problems with auditory hallucinations, though we're going to
need a lot more data before that can happen.
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