Brain manipulation may boost confidence: Study

Researchers in Japan are using a state-of-the-art technique to read and then amplify self-confidence in study participants. Dr. Mitsuo Kawato, director of the Computational Neuroscience Laboratories at the Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International in Kyoto, Japan, has pioneered the process called "Decoded Neurofeedback." The technique used brain scanning to monitor and detect the occurrence of specific complex patterns of activity tied to high self-confidence states, while 17 participants performed a simple perceptual task. Whenever a pattern of high confidence was detected, participants received a small monetary reward. By doing this, researchers were able to directly boost a person's own confidence unconsciously, meaning the participants were unaware of the manipulation taking place.