| Piano player gets poor score on brain testThe best way to research a brain cap that can detect your thoughts is to try it out. Sadly, this reporter didn't meet with huge success on his first attempt.
My task is to think of moving either my right or left hand, as directed by arrows on a computer screen. I then see whether the computer can detect these thoughts accurately. Only 7% of people achieve the 90% 'pass mark' at the first attempt, I am told.
First, I have the requisite five electrodes applied to my head: two on each side and an 'earth' electrode to keep me safe. One of each electrode pair is carefully placed over the part of the brain that is thought to be linked to hand movement. The other acts as a control, to help filter out background brain noise and focus on the bit specifically associated with hand movement.
The researchers then tell me to think consistently about one type of hand movement, such as lifting weights or squeezing a ball. So I cast my mind back to my childhood piano lessons. For six minutes I think about playing scales with my left and right hands while the computer attempts to calibrate my brain patterns. Then I take the test. I watch for left- and right-hand arrows on the screen and think about moving my corresponding left or right hand.
My score? Only a modest 68%. The lowest possible score, dictated by random chance, is 50%.
But the researchers reassure me that I accidentally chose a very difficult hand movement as a trial. Piano players often experience 'event-related desynchronization', they explain. This is when neurons become so efficient at communicating with one another through practice that it becomes difficult to pick up the right activity from a specific spot in the brain. Next time I'll try weightlifting instead.
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