It’s hard not to imagine such an end-game when reading about a fascinating new paper proving sensible (or “task-relevant”) neural responses in the sleeping brain. They think we can do basic processing and, perhaps, even math in our sleep; how many Bitcoin hash files do you think you could break over 40 solid winks?
The study itself was remarkably simple. Participants were fitted with electrodes that read brain activity, then asked a series of categorization questions. In one experiment they were asked to categorize words as either animals or objects, in another as either words or pseudo words, but in both cases they made their choice by pressing a button with either the left or right hand. This physical intention, to move either the left or right hand, is easily distinguishable in brain scans. More importantly, something called the lateralized readiness potential lets them see this left-right intention even if the user never actually moves either hand at all.
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, or even use Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for MakeCode, CircuitPython, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell with Google Hangouts On-Air is every Wednesday at 7:30pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.
