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Not yet. But thanks to the advent of fMRI (functional MRI) it won’t be long before total strangers are methodically scrutinizing hemodynamics (blood flow) within various regions of the brain to bypass conscious cognitive processing and asking the question, “you’re not lying are you”? Forget Total Recall where memories are simply erased and replaced, this is mind-reading. The first step at least.
If it sounds scary, that’s because it is. Welcome to the “New World Order” of Neurosociety complete with neuroethics, neuroesthetics and most probably neuroticism.
If there were ever a time to understand one’s own neurobiology, the time is now. If there were ever a time to understand one’s own mind, the time is now.
A classical zen koan says it best:
A young monk asked the zen master, “I have just entered this monastery. I beg you, Master, please give me instructions.” The venerable zen master asked, “Have you eaten your rice gruel yet?” The monk answered,
“Yes, I have.” The zen master said, “Then wash your bowls.”
Remember, fear is the mind-killer. The very thing you don’t want to do, is most probably the very thing you should be doing.
Namaste!
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Responses to “Have You Seen My Ventral Tegmental Area?”
March 2nd, 2008 at 9:33 pm
Every new technology meets with resistance at first….once the novelty wears off, it finds its place among the mundane. But don’t worry, there’s more where this came from!
March 3rd, 2008 at 2:02 am
Wow, superb! Very interesting. It sounds like this brain-view will reveal a lot more information than a simple EEG. Do you think you could use this in conjunction with EEG tech and get an even more complete view of what’s going on in there?
Zack’s last blog post..Very Interesting New Beta Program
March 3rd, 2008 at 2:10 am
You bet Zack! The electro-encephalogram is STILL the only tool that measures brain activity directly, in other words, inferences about blood flow or other hemodynamic properties are not involved. EEG also has the distinction of having the highest time resolution (on the order of 1 millisecond). Combining these two technologies could be tricky though…that’s a wait and see at this point.
March 2nd, 2008 at 7:43 pm
I think this technology is so exciting. I can imagine little tiny fmri’s, like old time hair dryers. You pop em on and it runs a scan. Perfection!