You can follow along right here and watch H.M.'s brain be turned into super-thin slices and mounted onto glass plates for later study. Now, as much as I would love to watch all 50 hours of that process right with you, I will need to sleep at some point, so I'd think anyone who catches particularly nifty screengrabs from the stream and posts them in the comments would be super awesome. [The Brain Observatory via Slashdot]

True, here the fMRI is being used by the defense as a means to elude the death penalty, and only in the sentencing portion of the trial—not as a tool of conviction, as a dubious EEG scan was used to convict a woman of murder in India last year. Specifically, the fMRI scan is being submitted as evidence that the defendant Brian Dugan's brain is abnormal—psychopathic—and so he shouldn't be subject to the death penalty. The jury disagreed, but took 10 hours to reach the decision that the state should kill Dugan for his crime. Without the scan, Dugan's defense attorney says it would've take them an hour.

It's kind of hard to grasp, conceptually, looking inside somebody's brain, literally peering into their mind. It's something from fiction, something paranormal—mind readers and psychics—as a means of detection, a means of determining right and wrong, truth and lies. Brain scans to determine how much punishment your crime merits logically leads into brain scans that figure out whether or not you committed the crime, into scans that reveal every crime you have committed, a persistent and inescapable confessional. What secrets would your brain spill? [Science Mag via Wired]

Henry Markram, the Blue Brain guy, says in an email to IBM's CTO, that the project is not even close to an ants brain and that the kind of simulations pulled off by IBM are trivial. He also calls the whole thing "stupid", and "extremely harmful to the field." [IEEE via Popsci]

To put that in perspective, 10 megawatts is the kind of energy a small hydroelectric plant produces—20 watts is only enough juice to power up a weak light bulb. Amazingly, your physical brain runs on this minuscule amount of power, and it's not very efficient. However, embracing this inefficiency could be the key to creating computers that mimic the human brain.

It sounds cockamamy, but it is true. Scientists have found that the brain's 100 billion neurons are surprisingly unreliable. Their synapses fail to fire 30 percent to 90 percent of the time. Yet somehow the brain works. Some scientists even see neural noise as the key to human creativity. Boahen and a small group of scientists around the world hope to copy the brain's noisy calculations and spawn a new era of energy-efficient, intelligent computing. Neurogrid is the test to see if this approach can succeed.

Most modern supercomputers are the size of a refrigerator and devour $100,000 to $1 million of electricity per year. Boahen's Neurogrid will fit in a briefcase, run on the equivalent of a few D batteries, and yet, if all goes well, come close to keeping up with these Goliaths.

So far Boahen has managed to squeeze a million neurons onto his new supercomputer compared to only 45,000 last year. By 2011, he hopes to have 64 million up and running, bringing the project to the equivalent of a mouse's brain.

Ditching reliability and efficiency in favor of organized chaos flies in the face of everything that an engineer holds dear, but the approach does make sense—and reducing the power consumption is the key to upholding Moore's law. But how will this development change our perception of what an artificially intelligent robot might become? Instead of some cold, logical machine that can think for itself, we might end up with robots that are just as stupid and flawed as we are. In other words. it could be a robot on that episode of future Cops running through the bushes with no shirt on after trying to rob a convenience store with a plastic lightsaber. Think about it. [Discover Mag via PopSci]

The narrator of the video sounds a bit paranoid about the subject at times, but some of the visuals (such as at the 1:15 mark) along with the info regarding the actual activity in the brain make him worth tolerating. Either that or the late hour has caused me to hallucinate. [Discover]

I say "thought decoding" instead of "mind reading," because what researchers are working on is a way to decode and analyze brain activity in order to predict the thought, or more precisely, the image in a person's mind. So far they've had limited success using small sample sizes of YouTube videos and thorough scans to study brain activity in order to assume which videos would produce what sort of activity.

The research is freaky with a heaping serving of awesome, and I can't wait until mindcasts are the newest trend. [New Scientist]

The full story is over at Wired, and is quite interesting, but one of the effects achieved was to basically reverse Parkinson's disease in mice. You should head over to find more, including what they'll do to get around the need to thread fiber through your skull. [Wired]

What researchers did to come to those conclusions is generate a "small electrical current in the brains of 14 healthy volunteers using scalp electrodes. The current increased the activity of normal beta waves." Bit freaky, but those folks volunteered for the research. What's truly freaky is this:

The current increased the activity of normal beta waves, and slowed the volunteers' reaction times by 10 percent.

So, how is all of this good news for Parkinson's patients? This study and result might actually lead to improvements on already existing "brain pacemaker" by using "oscillating current that more closely mimics normal brain waves, as opposed to constant brain stimulation." Those "brain pacemakers" help limit involuntary movements as well as improving on the ability to make voluntary ones. Here's hoping that this research will continue to improve the quality of life for those suffering from Parkinson's and similar degenerative disorders. [Discover]

This is the second part of the research. The previous one—from 1992—showed how some brain parts used less glucose as the subjects get more experienced with the game. This new study—which has been paid by the marketing company for Tetris, but peer-reviewed. and published by the journal BMC Research Notes—uses new, more precise imaging techniques to check for brain changes. The target population was adolescent girls, during a three month period. According to Haier, adolescent girls' brains are still developing. Obviously, boys' brains stop functioning properly around age ten.

The study found that the parts in blue where more efficient, while the ones in red got thicker, and stronger, resulting in a more agile, powerful game. [Discover via Neatorama]

Photo by Journal of Evolution and Technology

Using an IBM Blue Gene machine with 10,000 processors, the folks at the Blue Brain Project are creating simulations to figure out exactly how our brains work. So far they've got a "model of 'tens of thousands' of neurons" and lofty goals:

Ultimately, the aim would be to extract that representation and project it so that researchers could see directly how a brain perceives the world.

But as well as advancing neuroscience and philosophy, the Blue Brain project has other practical applications.

For example, by pooling all the world's neuroscience data on animals - to create a "Noah's Ark", researchers may be able to build animal models.

"We cannot keep on doing animal experiments forever," said Professor Markram.

It may also give researchers new insights into diseases of the brain.

"There are two billion people on the planet affected by mental disorder," he told the audience.

The project may give insights into new treatments, he said.

[BBC News]

This means both developers at large studios as well as dudes in their basement can make programs and games that do things with the data generated by the headset. And you generate data just by thinking a certain way.

What kind of stuff can these developers do? Well, for larger companies they can make this an additional controller to supplement their normal games, such as reloading just by concentrating or lifting boxes and "setting crap on fire." Independent developers can make weird one-off games that can really stretch the limits of what the Neurosky Mindset can read from your brain. Or porn games. [Neurosky]

Who says you need drugs to have a good time? All you need is an open mind and a little imagination to tap into the psychedelic potential of your brain. Oh, and gadgets like the 10 featured here can definitely help. Even if they don't work, just remember that even without the drugs you still have sex and rock n' roll. That should be enough for anyone.

Fiber Optic Wallpaper: Designer Camilla Diedrich has added a 21st century upgrade to drab old wallpaper by adding intricate designs illuminated with fiber optics. It's a cool idea—but I would still opt for a fresh coat of paint. [Bodie and Fou via Link]

Primal Source Fountain: Earlier this year artist Usman Haque tripped out all of Santa Monica, CA with a fountain projection that resembled a drug-induced hallucination. [Link]

Genso Kukan Aurora Simulator: This gadget claims to simulate the aurora borealis or "northern lights" on the walls in your home. The 6-inch tall Genso Kukan Aurora also features a 30-minute sleep timer to gently send you off on your own mystical journey through the mind. Plus, you will get a lot more mileage out of the $66 price tag than you would using it to purchase mind-bending substances. [HimeyaShop via Link]

Wave LED Coffee Table: The Wave table utilizes 32 near-infrared sensors to detect movement and follow it with trails of light and color from 480 LEDs. As you move your hand or your glass over the surface of the table, the LEDs follow along—allowing you to enjoy a similar experience as a stoner that becomes momentarily captivated by the movement of his own hands. Tables can be made to order for around $1800-$2000. [Because We Can via Link]

Magic Mushroom and the Incredible Expanding Bunny: Stare at the hypnotic spinning disc for around 20 seconds and then direct your eyes towards the magic mushroom and the bunny. Magically, they will both expand before your eyes. Available for around $6. [iwoot]

Hyposurface: These fabric and plastic walls are driven by thousands of mechanical pistons to create a morphing movement that is mesmerizing to watch in action. I tell you what, you had better be drug-free when standing in the midst of one of these Hyposurface walls—otherwise it will freak...you...out. [Hyposurface via Link]

The Good-Old Fashioned Isolation Tank: Nothing offers a drug-free hallucination better than a sensory deprivation or "isolation" tank. Just ask comedian and sober-stoner Joe Rogan. Earlier this year he gave away his old tank, and he can be seen here gushing about its psychedelic potential. [Link]

Ganzfeld Hallucinations: Isolation tanks are great, but unless you get a hand out from Joe Rogan they are going to be a tad expensive. Not so with this little DIY project. All you need is a pair of headphones and a ping pong ball that has been cut in half. Apparently, if you place the ping pong ball over your eyes and listen to white noise through the headphones, you will be in for a mind altering experience. Being a burn-out probably helps with this one. [Link]

Disco Bath: Place one of these mini-waterproof LED lightshows into your bath, sit back and let the psychedelic color patterns take control of your mind. Pre-order for $13. [Firebox via Link]

Eye Candy USB Lollipop: According to the product page, this curious confectionery "uses cutting edge Sensory Substitution Technology to transmit vivid emotive images into your mind's eye." It's based on "scientific" research conducted in the 1970s that the brain can accept certain forms of non-visual stimuli and transform it into a visual image. Using a charge via USB, Eye Candy lays down a matrix of small electrical pulses on your tongue in the shape of an object. Theoretically, you should be able to "see" the object it traces. Now here is where it really gets interesting...the pops come in six flavors designed to help you achieve the "right state of mind." For example: the pop can trace the image of a spider on your tongue to help you overcome your fears. Although the product is not currently available, the goal is to have Eye Candy out sometime in the near future at a cost of around $90. [Eye Candy via Link]

You simply place the ping pong ball halves over your eyes, so you only see diffuse white light, then listen to white noise through the headphones. What happens? Don't take my word for it, let's hear some customer testimonials:

“a clearing in a forest [Lichtung], a place bathed in bright sun-shine, and the trunks of trees around. A feeling of a tranquile summer afternoon in a forest, so quiet, so peaceful. And then, suddenly, a young woman passed by on a bicycle, very fast, she crossed the visual field from the right to the left, with her blond long hair waving in the air. The image of the entire scene was very clear, with many details, and yes, the colours were very vivid.”

“I can see his face, still, it's very expressive… [I could see] only the horse that comes as if out of clouds. A white horse that jumped over me.”

“A friend of mine and I, we were inside a cave. We made a fire. There was a creek flowing under our feet, and we were on a stone. She had fallen into the creek, and she had to wait to have her things dried. Then she said to me: ‘Hey, move on, we should go now’.”

“It was like running a bob sleigh on an uneven runway right down… [There] was snow or maybe water running down… I could hear music, there was music coming from the left side below.”

“In the right side of the visual field, a manikin suddenly appeared. He was all in black, had a long narrow head, fairly broad shoulders, very long arms and a relatively small trunk…. He approached me, stretching out his hands, very long, very big, like a bowl, and he stayed so for a while, and then he went back to where he came from, slowly.”

Whoa, dude. Someone try this out and let's hear how it works. Come on, I know a lot of you don't have anything better to do right now. Do this for science. [Mind Hacks]

The story tells of a woman who lived in the town of Pune, engaged to Man A. One day, she up and runs off to Delhi with Man B. She returns to Pune, meets Man A at a McDonald's, and later on, he dies. Of arsenic poisoning.

When the woman was brought in accused of murdering Man A, she denied the allegation. When investigators hooked her up to an EEG and read aloud facts of the crime, however, software interpreting the electrical impulses in her brain told a different story. Says the NYT: "The relevant nooks of her brain where memories are thought to be stored buzzed when the crime was recounted."

Unlike in previous cases, there was little or no corroborative evidence here, but the judge sentenced the woman to life in prison anyway, and went on to write a 9-page lovesong to this particular Brain Electrical Oscillations Signature test, even though it has yet to be "validated by any independent study and reported in a respected scientific journal." (Peer review, who needs it?)

The US is leading this burgeoning field of study, but the only time it's used in court is when the accused pays to have a study performed as evidence of innocence. The New Yorker ran an amazing expose on this shady business a year ago, and it's still well worth the read.

What happens in an Indian courtroom doesn't set precedent in the US, but this technology certainly isn't going to go away, so it's important either to rule it out as faux science, or tighten up the applied methodology quickly, so that we can all get on to the business of reading each others' minds in court. Course then we'd really start killing each other. [New York Times]

A brainwave measuring technology like electroencephalography records your thoughts, and a speech recognition system would decode the signals into words. The words would then be sent to the receiver using a different system "pointed in their direction." Presumably this is some form of radio, but since it's basically an EEG reading, one could imagine it being sent over the internet or via cellphone. Might even help you cut down on your minutes, but don't let your thoughts wander while you're talking to your girlfriend.

The scientists say that such a system will require a ton of training and will only send very specific messages at first, but over time the system will improve. This sounds like a pretty revolutionary step in communication, and one that will likely lead to many embarrassing results if it is every widely implemented. Would it be worth it to you to read everyone's thoughts if everyone could read yours? [Physorg via KurzweilAI]

The tech, called diffusion spectrum imaging, takes current data from MRI scans and analyzes it for the passage of water molecules along the individual neuron connections in the brain. It then processes it to spit out the 3D maps. It's possible to do on live subjects (like the human brain image above), but more detail can be achieved by scanning non-living samples for up to 24 hours.

Doctors are using the new images to better understand our brain's infinitely complicated wiring, and to avoid important neural nets during surgeries. More including 3D model animations (awesome) at: [Technology Review]

Team leader Professor Toshiki Yoshimine says that using electrode sheets directly installed over the brain's surface increases the sensibility in comparison to skin electrodes. This is a risky procedure in and of itself, so the team has been working with volunteers that had electrodes installed for other medical applications, like epilepsy monitoring.

The operation doesn't require penetration into the brain itself: they put the electrode sheet in the central sulcus, also called the Rolandic fissure after Luigi Rolando, the Italian professor who devoted his life to the study of brain anatomy. This fold separates the brain's parietal lobe from the frontal lobe, but more importantly in this case, the primary motor cortex from the primary somatosensory cortex—the key area for voluntary muscle operation in the body.

The Osaka University team's next step is to actually connect these patients to actual robotic limbs, so they can control them using the software modelled after the data collected from their previous experiments. [Asahi via Pink Tentacle]

Volunteers were asked to try and outrun a virtual predator who was stalking them round a maze. If he caught up with them, Bzzzzzt! they were given a shock to the hand.

If the ghostie was far away, players used the prefrontal cortex region of the brain, which deals with complex planning tasks. If the ghostie got up close and personal with Pac-Man, brain activity shifted to the periaqueductal gray, a more primitive area which governs quick-response survival mechanisms, such as fight, flight or freeze.

The research will be used to help scientists better understand anxiety disorders, such as panic attacks. [Guardian Unlimited]