Computers cant match the human brain in many respects but computers are being taught to read brain activity allowing human beings to control them merely with the power of thought. Well come to you tomorrow today with an exploration of the human brain and the world of thought. Our brains are constantly working take vision for example we see football a shot to the right. The ball is our range. Our eyes take in what we see that information is passed by the optic nerve to other parts of the brain in the form of electrical signals these signals can pass through the brains neurons at a speed of up to 120 meters a 2nd. At the connection linking one iran to another the signal has to bridge a tiny gap known as the synoptic left before continuing on. There is no one Central Location in the brain where a thought is developed we think by an entire network of neurons distributed across the brain. So detecting a single thought isnt easy but computers are learning to do just that. Getting ready to play a very special. Computer game one that doesnt require the use of your hands a game that soley powered by you saw its. Their 1st so its really interesting to try this out for myself and when i think that in 5 or 10 years time we could be turning the lights on and off at home like this its Pretty Amazing stuff not respond is this the future weve come to the sensory motor system slap e. T. H. Institute in 06 switzerland scientists here are studying how humans and machines can interact the video game is connected to the monitor via a headset that can read the brains an electrical signals. This device consists of an electrode which is a conductor that can detect changes in the frequency very well if we think about wanting to carry out of particular movement that triggers electrical activity in the brain just small differences in frequency can be measured by this electrode. Right now the electrode can only detect 2 commands concentration which causes the characters to speed up and relaxation which slows them down the players have to respond deliberately i mean when i want to concentrate i try to solve mathematics problems in my mind. Alphabet in reverse to relax ill close my eyes for a moment and try to just breathe deeply sometimes it works sometimes it doesnt. Technology is still quite basic but the game shows whats already possible in the realm of brain computer interfaces perhaps well soon be able to control our electrical devices at home just with our minds. Cleena has a different goal for years hes been exploring how humans and machines can interact for medical purposes. For example if people with paraplegia could control this robotic exoskeleton with their thoughts they could once again become mobile. But the technology is still in its early stages these emergency its released would have to be very reliable and safe see exoskeleton must stop for example when the patient wants it to as yet its still difficult to achieve that reliability to become a major Global Players such as facebook envision a huge market for this technology and a pumping billions into its development why if you could type directly from your brain. Instead of typing you could just think your messages directly into your smart phone facebook wants to make this future vision a reality in just a few years. A kind of brain controlled typewriter already exists researchers at Stanford University have developed a system whereby people can you think letters into a computer this enables lupton paralyzed patients to communicate with the outside world. And eat all you need to do is a mandarin moving your right arm for example to the wider team on a keyboard and all slide out to the teeth. In addition to that were also able to attack when you wish to so what but what are you patients can type up to 40 letters a minute but in order to use the technology they have to have an electrode implanted into their brain. They also need an alphabet table to choose the letters with their eyes and. This system would not be useful as an everyday tool for people without such disabilities from your brain. And theres another major problem that stands in the way of widespread use. One think that on people constantly think of other things they get distracted and you might also be driving a car at that moment or walking these processes overlap in the brain and making it almost impossible to pull a text message out of your mind as things stand right now and also it seems scientists from the university of freiburg are researching how to separate the various processes going on in the brain tonio balland philip k. My i use e. G. Waves to make these processes visible this shows the difference between moments of high concentration and chaotic everyday situations. Here you can see these classic e. G. Alpha waves they appear when our test subject just closes his eyes so now ill shake your head a bit my business. Sort of just then be strong waves appear out of. Its a hindrance if we want to get to the actual information that the brain is thinking because this disruption just stored the whole thing for months you want to come. To filter the correct thoughts from the chaos they use a deep learning process in which the computer recognizes brain activity on the basis of e. G. Wave patterns that it has already learned. To teach the system these patterns test subjects are asked to repeatedly make a movement in this case raising the right arm the computer now learns that the brain wave pattern created represents the desire to move ones right tom regardless of who the end user is. The scientists have taught this robot how to recognize a specific commands. Using only his thoughts the test subject asks the robot to fetch him a drink. The robot recognizes the specific brain wave pattern and carries out the task. For. A reason to celebrate or perhaps the scientists are also concerned about the potential implications of their work because it can only function if machines are taught to read new real activity data and this is very risky after all what might happen if corporations like facebook had access to the brain activity data of millions of people. If huge amounts of brain activity data were stored in one location for the benefit of learning processes it might be that more very relevant information could be gleaned for example leg group level come from you could distinguish between gender or ethnic background all things that we dont know what the moment was but it would make sense to think about how to effectively protect this data before simply handing it over and consider whether such systems should even be given to consumers of. The plans to brain control devices has already been paved even if they exist mainly in research and development at the moment facebook as well as other companies are in the starting blocks in the race to conquer our thoughts with technology. The human brain is likely to remain a source of fascination many of its inner workings are still a mystery but scientists have been able to debunk some of the myths surrounding the brain. One involves. A dios mozart who lived from 17. 56 to 791 a study from the 1990 s. Claim that listening to his music could make you smile especially his analysis for 2 pianos in team a chance. At gannett huge Public Interest and became known as the mozart effect but the results of the study could never be reproduced the mozart effect is a myth. Still music that we enjoy can stimulate the brain and have a positive effect on us. One of our viewers in the rock asked about another commonly held misconception concerning the brain. Do people really only used 10 percent of their brain. Then surely telepath the or telekinesis would be no problem if people could finally access 100 percent of their brain power centers. Like lucy and the film of the same name. While the rest of us bumble along at a pivoting 10 percent. But thats a myth that is more hollywood than reality. Using only 10 percent of the organ that consumes the most energy would be a huge evolutionary disadvantage. Even asleep we use far more than a 10th of our brain. No one knows exactly where the persistent 10 percent myth comes from its been mr tributed to many people including Albert Einstein and my heart back to a misunderstanding about the very positive by psychologist William James and his student boris cedars. Seeders the sun was a child prodigy. At 18 months reportedly could read a newspaper. Later it was claimed that he had an i. Q. Of 254000000 james then said in a lecture people only meet a fraction of their full mental potential. But he said not. Thing about 10 percent or part of the brain remaining unused. Pop culture has also helped to perpetuate the myth. Of course some areas of the brain may be more active than others but none are completely idle if they cant receive stimuli theyll find another job to do. For example in blind people the visual centers of the brain can adapt to help process order tree signals. But brain cells tend to atrophy if the news. Quite apart from a conscious Decision Making the brain has plenty to do filtering impressions regulating breathing controlling reflexes hunger and thirst and much more besides. The fact is only people who suffer real brain damage can no longer use certain parts of their brain. The rest of us can access all of those billions of brain cells. The brain of a newborn baby possesses many more new rounds than that of an adult while in the womb the brain grows that an average rate of 250000 neurons per minute. That its still not fully did that the brain initially develops many more synopses than it actually means it was hard to comprehend the world and to remember. Babies are curious and attentive but can they watch somebody do something remember it and then do it themselves that is imitate a simple action. 6 months old and shes observing closely. You can pull off the toys and shake it like a rattle. After a brief pause its layers turn shes clearly noted the trick with the ear. That shows shes developed some memory for a sequence of events. But thats only one of many stages in the development of memory. Psychologists at Frankfurt University tested 1000. 00 children extensively over a period of 5 years. They wanted to find out what stages children go through until they develop the ability to remember events from their own past and then go on to have an autobiographical memory. The ability to recognize oneself is a prelude to being able to remember things from ones past can recognise herself yet. Her task is to wipe away the mark on her face with the help of america is that is it a mark. Why dont you morrow touches her face she recognised herself in the mirror not all children can do that one and a half. Benjamin tries to wipe the mark off the mirror instead. Because i think now finds the image in the mirror up setting. Look wipe it away youll use is a bit older. North america way clean it on. Us recognises himself in the mirror but hes still got a way to go to develop an autobiographical memory. Is all to be altered by a graphical memory is the queen of disciplines within memory and it requires many different components which children dont have when they 1st arrive on the planet. The ability to remember past events is one of those components us recognizes himself in the mirror and on screen whats not to pay. Attention its a bit of red tape there where is it. Cant you lose connect the past situation he sees in the video to the present that would be sensational as you or your sister rather young for that now and for what than it is just what do you see the red thing is kind what is it you can you give it to me. When you take it off the video off grab a fan and this task doesnt just require him to recognize whos there on the screen the strip of paper was attached to his head a few minutes earlier he also has to understand i existed a few minutes ago and i remember that happening so the pain might still be there only then can you look for it on his own head. By the time for most children can complete this task with that theyre already much closer to having a full autobiographical memory. Remembering an experience is the next stage. Tony is 6 and hes shown a scene from 2 years earlier. Do we still have this straight yeah. We took those cars and drove them along the street right now because the situation he also talks about other adventures without any video prompt most of us do you know there was this i said to light didnt get away in time and it went off. Tony had to work hard to reach this stage and lest we forget heres the video to prove it. Times how good is your memory what did you wear to that party one month ago a red dress or was it the blue one. What did you eat something healthy. Or fast food. Are you sure maybe you got it wrong. Did you have an argument with your friend. Well one thing is clear our own memories are not always as reliable as wed like. We all have minor lapses of memory from time to time we find ourselves thinking i could have sworn i put the keys on that shelf. After an anxious search we eventually find them. On the desk. Or minds play games on us and london based forensic psychologist julia sure says it happens far more often than we realize. Its a again or i like to compare memory to a with a pedia paying inch you can alter it but so can others and i like the analogy because it describes how flexible our memories are and how they can undergo massive changes in everyday life as well as an extreme situation as an accident at what cost of an oncoming car. In experiments sure has brought 70 percent of participants over the course of 3 interviews to have memories of a crime they never committed. And they remember it in all its complexity as if it really happened. It will give details emotional details why you think that cant possibly be a phones memory and it sounds as if this person really did it. Mattered self declared perpetrators and victims can turn out to be nothing of the sort it happens time and again. In germany in 2004 a man admitted to chopping up his fiance father and feeding him to dogs he said the victims family helped him carry out the gruesome deed. But 5 years later the police found the mans car in the danube river and inside they found the corpse of the allegedly butchered would be father in law all in one piece. Year after many a matter of fact the more you question someone the more their memories can change and that is important for Police Investigation methods. It means that we have to take into account that repeated interrogate. Asians can lead to a suspect adding misinformation to their memories misrepresenting things in a very major way. In australia in 1975 a woman was raped and then gave investigators a very detailed description of her attacker he was soon found and arrested but he had a water tight alibi he was doing a live interview at the time of the rape so he could not possibly be the rapist why was the woman so sure he was. In this case the answer was quite simple shed watched the interview on t. V. Just before she was attacked the woman had confused the face shed seen on t. V. With that of the rapist. Mentioned. People who were involved in the criminal Justice SystemLike Police Officers and lawyers often say that they would recognise a false confession or a false memory when they encountered one once. But thats not true these situations are incredibly difficult to understand for everybody so we can see if someone is lying and we cant see if someone has a false memory that that led to a nightmarish situation for a man in the United States in the 1990 s. While undergoing psychotherapy his adult daughter suddenly came to believe that she had been sexually abused by him for many years she said that had resulted in 2 pregnancies and she had tapped to abort the foetuses with a wire coat hanger. But then it emerged that the woman had never been pregnant much less had any abortions she was in fact still a virgin. Juliet schor also consults as an expert on criminal cases and provides training to the police. Her primary aim is to teach investigators to. Void suggestive questions that can elicit false memories. Sure says it can happen very fast. Then see that as one being if you think the person you are talking to knew small and even knows more about you and your life than you do then you can soon start thinking yes what if that is what happened on the what if can quickly turn into a. Perhaps consume become a yes that is what happened. False memories can lead to false statements and to terrible miscarriages of justice. Incidentally studies show that we are much more likely to notice negative things than positive ones that make sense from an evolutionary point of view allowing us to recognize problems and dangers and to resolve them but it can also prevent us from shrugging off things that arent important. However we can retrain ourselves for example by taking time to remember the good things that were happy about. Many things are known to have a very good memory and theres social animals like most primates including humans then there are all social predators that hunt in packs studies suggest the brain can reveal how sociable and lives dolphins for example have been shown to be extremely social animals but other species also appear to be more selfless than we realized. Its well known that parents are pretty small birds but i think also helpful to each other. Is an african gray and lives in laurel park zoo on 10 a river in the community islands she and her friends have been helping the mox Grant Institute for ornithology with an experiment about social intelligence and cooperativeness. The parents quickly learn that they can exchange a token for food. But in this experiment bella has a problem she can swap or tokens for a treat because the window is closed instead she hands them over to her friend kimmy kimmie then swaps the tokens for food through her window bella gets nothing this generosity without any immediate favor in return surprised even the researchers because until now such behavior had only been observed among some great apes and humans. In the 2nd experiment the parrots are given a choice. A blue token means only one of them gets a treat a white token earns them both a snack they soon work it out and choose white which benefits both birds even though the other one has done nothing to earn a treat. Many parents are evidently helpful and not envious. The researchers think this has to do with parents live longer now the way. They prefer solidarity to selfishness. If help what is right why are great but im giving you a dilemma do you have a size question that youve always wanted answered it were happy to help out yes send it to us as a video tests over or smell to make we answer it on the show must send you a little surprise as a thank you come on just ask. For most stories about the world of science visit us on our website on twitter and facebook. Thats all from tamara today next time we look at the universe through the Hubble Space Telescope its celebrating its 30th anniversary in space what insights have we gained and what does the future holds tell that by. Move. Well you know good shape take supply and wait for us in forests and fields and thats dangerous. And down more than 900 different species of ticks some of them is news and others have transmitting disease after mosquitoes takes other most dangerous victor but he says everything you ever wanted to know about takes good shooting. In 30 minutes long d. W. When the prices of. Cities will sink into the sea. Entire stretches of land will be abandoned. And the water to mr rosen. Says great waters are supposed to prevent flooding but the only delay the inevitable. Will live in the future 66 meters and rising sea levels. In 75 minutes on t. W. How does a virus spread. Why do we panic and when well all be. True just 3 of the topics covered in the weekly radio show is called spectrum if you would like any information on the chrono maurice or any other science topic you should really check out our podcast you can get it wherever you get your podcasts you can also find us at dot com forum slash science and. Innovation. But can it conquer the major issues of our society. The season the founder sally. Be a good host its monday heroes in asia inspirational people who take on the challenges of the world with their unique ideas for. As the person would face off from an aerial mind you look at those 2 problems and the film one clue shanda new season of the sounders valley. Starts june 13th w. O. 6 s e w news live from for lend readers forced to confess that their religion is a crime. So when i lose weight and get upset because they have worn a headscarf a place called the troubled approach there wasnt a single criminal among that almost. Investigative team uncovers a new evidence showing tweakers were subjected to sham