This is a particularly exciting time in our history; invasive brain implants have been used to create direct mind links between rats(1), and messages(2) and motor control signals(5) can now be sent between humans using only noninvasive brain interface technology. Published research has indicated that tACS can be used to induce and synchronize cortical oscillation patterns(3), and that specific oscillation patterns may be associated with specific thought processes(4). Since EEGs directly record cortical oscillation patterns, it seems possible that these recorded patterns could be superimposed on a second brain using tACS in order to influence teaching of tasks. To begin preliminary testing of this possibility, we are forming a research group and deploying tACS devices to some of its members. These tACS devices, once in the hands of people who have test subjects available, will make it possible to conduct a wide variety of neurostimulation experiments, as they will be capable of producing any desired type of transcranial current stimulation within safe limits (tACS, tDCS, and tRNS being three examples that frequently appear in the published literature).
The first concrete step in the cyborg collective construction project, the TM01 experiment will attempt to determine whether or not the EEG signal of a trained human performing a specific task -- converted to a proportional tACS signal -- can be used to enhance learning in another human studying the same task. The project is ultimately intended to enable a form of machine-assisted telepathy. We're planning on using maze navigation, but we could add more tasks or change our test protocol depending on what you residents of the Internet have to say. We made a page on wiki (itself on space kindly shared by the proprietor of the illustrious tdcsplacements.com) so that everyone could edit our (tentative) experimental procedure or design and propose their own experiments, and overall we want to build a collective mind by linking humans to each other and to other intelligent agents and systems for the purpose of minimizing harm to perceptive entities and maximizing cognitive function.
More on that later, though. Here’s our proposed test procedure:
Users will be supplied with a tACS device and software to interface with it from a computer. They will apply sponge electrodes and retaining straps to their heads and launch the software after connecting the tACS device to their computer via USB cable. The user will perform multiple maze-navigation tasks, navigating using the arrows on the keyboard. Initially, the user will be “led” through the maze by a circular avatar representing the (pre-recorded) movements of the person whose EEG signal they may be receiving as signal input. Then the user will be sent through the maze unguided. This will be repeated for 10 different mazes. The software will internally randomize the order of sham stimulation, random noise stimulation, and EEG signal stimulation to enable blinding. The software will generate a data file containing the user’s movements through the maze, keyboard inputs, and type of stimulation being administered. These data files will be uploaded to a public-facing database for collective analysis.
The state of the hardware so far
Citations
1. A Brain-to-Brain Interface for Real-Time Sharing of Sensorimotor Information
Authors: Miguel Pais-Vieira et al., Journal: “Scientific Reports”
2. Conscious Brain-to-Brain Communication in Humans Using Non-Invasive Technologies
Authors: Carles Grau et al., Journal: “PLOS ONE”
3. Transcranial electrical stimulation (tES – tDCS; tRNS; ACS) methods
Author: Walter Paulus, Journal: “Neuropsychological Rehabilitation”
4. Spectral fingerprints of large-scale neuronal interactions
Authors: Markus Siegel et al., Journal: “Nature Reviews Neuroscience”
5. A direct Brain-to-Brain Interface in Humans
Authors: Rajesh Rao, et al., Journal: “PLOS ONE”