In her 2017 book, The Influential Mind neuroscientist Tali Sharot describes several kinds of unusual communication. So far, neuroscientists have been able to demonstrate electronic mind-to-mind information transmission (i) between mice, (ii) from humans to rats, (iii) between humans, and (iv) from humans to machines. Information transfer occurred without any visual, verbal, physical or chemical (pheromone) contact. This represents a different mode(s) of communication compared to how means for communicating are now generally considered.
The information transfer was correlated with altered behavior in the animal or machine that received the information. For the human- and animal-only experiments, the results were interpreted as evidence of a learned behavior in the source mind being able to influence neuronal firing in the recipient mind to elicit the behavior the trained animal had learned.
This area of research and the data are new. It is not the case that scientists believe that mind-to-mind communication has been shown to transmit abstract ideas between minds. Sharot cautions that these are only the first, primitive steps in developing technology to explore and to try to assess the ultimate limits of direct mind-to-mind communication.
Mouse-to-mouse: Transfer of information was shown by connecting electrodes implanted in mouse brains with the electrodes being connected by wires to a computer. Transfer of learning by a trained mouse in one cage led to an untrained mouse in another, separate cage engaging in behavior that mimicked what the trained mouse had been taught. For the physically connected mouse brains, the recipient brain learned directly from electrical signals the source brain generated.
For the mouse-to-mouse experiments, Sharot writes: “It took Homer [the untrained mouse] some time, but after about 45 hours of playing this game (with lots of breaks in between) he had a eureka moment, ‘Hey, the answer is in my head!’ Seven times out of ten Homer got the answer right and was rewarded with a large sip of cool refreshing water. . . . . every time Homer got the answer right, Einstein [the trained mouse] received bonus water, which motivated him to send out an even clearer signal to Homer. . . . . It was the bare essentials of communication that caused a reaction - a firing cell [cells?] in one brain altering the firing of cells in another brain. This, in turn, led to a change in behavior.”
Variants of the experiment included working with Homer and Einstein being in the same lab to having them in different countries with the mind-to-mind connection via internet.
Human-to-rat: Communication from a human to a rat was demonstrated in, what to this observer, seems like a bizarre protocol. Standard electroencephalograph electrodes attached to a human's head were recorded to a computer and then transmitted from the computer to the rat's brain via ultrasound. The human was looking at images of either circles or squares on a computer screen. Information transmission to the rat involved converting human 'circle' and 'square' electrical brain signals in a computer to ultrasound signals as the mode mode of information transmission. The ultrasound transmission to the rat led to lift or drop it's tail depending on the signal.
Sharot comments: “There is nothing special about circles and squares; you could use images of unicorns and burgers, if you prefer. In fact, just thinking of unicorns and burgers can suffice.” This research is part of US military research looking to see if it is possible to develop ‘fighter rats’ that are controlled by human thought. “With this goal in mind (no pun intended), the group of researchers at Harvard set out to show that a person's thoughts could control the movement of a rat's tail.”
Again, these are primitive, early stage results based on (i) limited data sets, and (ii) primitive, early stage protocols and technology.
Human-to-human: Sharot: “Here, again, EEG [electroencephalograph] was used to record signals from a volunteer -- this time, while the volunteer thought about moving his hand. This signal was then transmitted to a computer and transmitted across the internet. Once it arrived at its destination, it was converted to a magnetic signal. Small magnetic pulses were transmitted to a second person through his scalp with a machine called TMS (transcranial magnetic stimulation).[1] These magnetic pulses triggered a neural reaction and viola -- the person's finger instantaneously moved, without the person consciously desiring it. What we can learn . . . . is that changing behavior is about altering the pattern of neural firing inside a person's brain.”
Regarding human-to-machine communication, a paralyzed volunteer was capable of successfully of using her mind with a surgically implanted electrode to control sophisticated flight simulators for a single engine Cessna airplane and the US military's new F-35 fighter jet. Commenting on the volunteer's capacity to fly sophisticated war jets, a DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) director commented: “We can now see the future where we can free the brain from the limitations of the human body.”
Questions: Assuming the experiments and results described here replicate, are these results merely parlor tricks or do they have any real world implications for problems such as the mind-body problem, the nature of mind or consciousness or warfare? Since the physical human brain is considered by many people to be different from the 'intangible' human mind, is this line of experimentation a demonstration of brain-to-brain communication and not mind-to-mind communication, assuming such a distinction makes sense?
Footnote:
1. A prior B&B discussion discussed recent results showing the capacity of magnetic pulses to assess degrees of human consciousness, with results closely mirroring clinical assessments of degrees of consciousness.
B&B orig: 12/22/17
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