For people who have lost the ability to speak, the future may include brain implants that bring that ability back. But could these brain implants also allow them to sing? Researchers believe that, all in all, it’s just another brick in the wall.
In a new study published in PLOS Biology, twenty-nine people who were already being monitored for epileptic seizures participated via a postage stamp-sized array of electrodes implanted directly on the surface of their brains. As the participants were exposed to Pink Floyd’s Another Brick In the Wall, Part 1, the researchers gathered data from several areas of the brain, each attuned to a different musical element such as harmony, rhythm, and so on. Then the researchers used machine learning to reconstruct the audio heard by the participants using their brainwaves.
First, an AI model looked at the data generated from the brains’ responses to components of the song, like the changes in rhythm, pitch, and tone. Then a second model rejiggered the piecemeal song and estimated the sounds heard by the patients. Of the seven audio samples published in the study results, we think #3 sounds the most like the song. It’s kind of creepy but ultimately very cool. What do you think?
Another cool aspect is that this revealed which parts of the brain respond to what when listening to music. While many of us might assume it all goes on in the auditory cortex, some audio such as the onset of voices and synthesizers is processed just behind and above the ear in the superior temporal gyrus. Even though this study focused on recreating music, the researchers believe this will move the idea of the speech brain implant forward.
Why Pink Floyd? While the researchers admit to a fondness for the band, the song they chose is layered and complex, which makes for interesting analysis. Although we are not sheep, we would have to agree.
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