Visualizing and manipulating brain dynamics

ABSTRACT

Brain is not a mere input-output information transformation system, but a dynamical system that generates spontaneous spatiotemporal patterns even without sensory inputs, executed movements, or cognitive tasks. These spontaneously generated patterns by brain dynamics are called spontaneous brain activities for experimental animals, and resting state brain activities for humans. The resting state brain activity of an individual contains much information about age, cognitive capability, mental disorder etc. By combining information decoding from brain activity and its neurofeedback in reinforcement learning paradigms, we can unconsciously control brain activity patterns corresponding to specific information. This leads to therapies of psychiatric disorders, unconscious manipulation of facial preferences, color qualia, confidence in decision making, increase of cognitive capability, etc. Ubicomp community can expect this technology will soon be available in much cheaper and lighter devices such as EEG and near infrared spectroscopy instead of heavy and expensive fMRI or MEG.

• Computing methodologies