Computer reads brain activity to ID the song a patient is listening to

Researchers from the D'Or Institute for Research and Education have used machine learning to train a computer to identify what song a participant is listening to by analyzing brain activity. The study, published in Scientific Reports, aims to advance brain decoding for future communication with patients without spoken words. A total of six volunteers listened to 40 pieces of classical, rock, pop and jazz music while undergoing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The MRI identified the neural fingerprint of each song in a participant's brain while a computer simultaneously learned the specific patterns occurring during each song. The computer included tonality, dynamics, rhythm and timbre in its analysis for an improved recall.