The Potential of Electroencephalography as a Tool for Empowering Cognition

Electroencephalography (EEG) is a long-standing electrophysiological monitoring method to record electrical activity of the brain. Developed by German psychiatrist Hans Berger in 1920–1930, this procedure is today widely applied in clinical domains to identify pathological changes in the brain's electrical patterns. EEG is also used as a noninvasive imaging tool in neuroscience research to make discoveries about cognition and brain function.

In recent years, the use of EEG has also become increasingly popular outside medicine and psychology, with applications in gaming, neuromarketing, simulations, and human–computer interaction. These novel applications have been encouraged by the introduction of consumer-grade EEG devices, which are less expensive and easier to use than professional tools, but at same time, they are not as accurate and reliable as medical-grade devices. The interest in the use of EEG in non-clinical applications has also been fostered by emerging research lines that have shown the potential of this method for empowering and “extending” human cognition. A recent example that has made headlines during the last few weeks is BrainNet, a research project by a joint effort of University of Washington and Carnegie Mellon, which has explored the feasibility of collaborative problem solving using direct brain-to-brain communication. The study, ¹ which has been published on the pre-print server arXiv, used EEG to record brain signals and transcranial magnetic stimulation to deliver information noninvasively to the brain. The system connects three participants who are engaged in solving a Tetris-like game in which a falling block has to be rotated so that it fits into a space at the bottom of the screen. Two of the three subjects are “senders” whose brain signals are decoded using real-time EEG data analysis to extract decisions about whether to rotate the block before it is dropped to fill the line. The senders' decisions are transmitted via the Internet to the brain of a third subject, the “receiver,” who cannot see the game screen. Results of the experiment were promising, showing that five groups of three subjects were able to use BrainNet successfully to perform the Tetris task, with an average high accuracy. Another interesting EEG project is the “Encephalophone,” a musical instrument and biofeedback device that can be played using brain activity, which has been developed by Thomas Deuel, a neuroscientist (and musician) from the University of Washington. As described in Frontiers in Neuroscience, ² the Encephalophone allows users to generate different notes on a synthesized piano by activation (event-related synchronization) or deactivation (event-related desynchronization) of the posterior dominant rhythm (or mu rhythm) in the visual or motor cortex, respectively. According to its inventors, the EEG-based instrument may have potential applications as both a novel musical instrument without requiring movement and a potential therapeutic biofeedback device for patients suffering from motor deficits.