TMCnet Feature

If you've ever lounged on your couch watching the film “The Matrix” on a lazy weekend afternoon wishing that the “instant thought upload” kind of learning used by Neo, the main character (“I know Kung Fu!”) was a reality, you may get your wish...someday...though you may have a relatively long wait. But the good news is that you won't even need a USB port in the back of your head.

Instant learning via direct digital communication with a subject’s brain is not only possible, scientists say, but there has already been some success with test subjects. The process is called “Decoded Neurofeedback,” and experiments have reportedly resulted in long-lasting improvement in tasks that rely on visual performance — such as playing a musical instrument or catching/hitting a ball, Digital Trends is reporting today.

The process apparently relies functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) interpreted through a person's visual cortex. (Probably a pretty brave person to let anyone use their brain as a test subject, one would imagine.)

So what does that whole MRI-in-the-visual-cortex mean? The press release from the National Science Foundation explains it as follows: “Think of a person watching a computer screen and having his or her brain patterns modified to match those of a high-performing athlete or modified to recuperate from an accident or disease. Though preliminary, researchers say such possibilities may exist in the future.”

Neuroscientists have discovered through research that mental pictures gradually build up inside a person's brain, appearing first as lines, edges, shapes, colors and motion in early visual areas. The brain then later apparently fills in greater detail such as colors. In this study, researchers have examined the early visual areas for their ability to cause “improvements” in visual performance and learning.

Apparently, the subject need not even be aware of what improvements are being made to his or her brain for the process to work. (So be suspicious if you wake up one morning and suddenly know how to built a jet engine or speak Welsh, just look around for the guys in black suits and black sunglasses and pack a bag...quickly.)