Registration of the electrical activity of the brain made it possible to create and record melodies by concentrating on the necessary elements.
Neurocomputer interfaces “read” the indicators of the electrical activity of the brain and convert them into a code with which a person can exchange signals with a computer. A new development in this area will allow composing music and arranging the score of a composition, only focusing on the necessary elements.
Like other neurointerfaces, the development uses electroencephalographic data. To register electrical activity, a "helmet" with electrodes is put on a person's head. The interface uses data on the P300 evoked potential - this electrical reaction occurs when a person performs some kind of cognitive task or encounters an external stimulus.
In modern neurointerfaces, this potential is often used to write a text "by the effort of thought". The person is shown a table of symbols, then he selects the column or row in which the desired symbol is located. When a person focuses on a selected column, the electrical activity of the brain changes - this change is recorded by an electroencephalograph. After that, in the same way, select the desired symbol from the row. A 2000 study found that about four characters per minute can be written this way.
The musical neurointerface works in a similar way. The user selects the necessary notes, chords and rests from the table. 18 people took part in the development tests, including a professional composer. The participants completed three tasks. During the first, it was necessary to write down a word using a neural interface, in the second - to copy the melody, in the third - to independently compose a musical fragment and record it through the neural interface. The professional coped with the tasks better, but all test participants achieved successful results.
Symbol selection, PLoS ONE
An article about the technology was published in PLoS ONE magazine.
Natalia Pelezneva
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