OK! This Might Change Everything…
Specifically, this might be exactly where video gaming and medicine begin to merge in an even more engaging and powerful way!
A gaming streamer named Perrikaryal has managed to play a video game with her thoughts. Wearing a wireless headset to measure brain activity using an electroencephalogram (EEG), she connected her brain to a computer. Through this method she became more capable and beat part of a notoriously difficult game (Elden Ring) with her mind. WITH HER MIND!
Our brains contain billions of neurons, each of which connects with thousands of other neurons, using either electricity or chemicals to “communicate†with one another. Our brain works in a multitude of ways when these signals activate different patterns of neurons, much of which can be monitored using an EEG.
Perrikaryal currently only uses the EEG to operate two buttons, which direct her character to “attack†and “heal.†All other actions are still controlled manually, but she plans to continue adding more sophisticated functions to mentally control most or all of the game.
What comes next? Accessibility, sure, but also increased engagement, subconscious learning and direct brain training (like recovery from stroke and injury). For me, this is like the first time someone smashed two rocks together and made a spark; pure potential and a lot of power to be reckoned with – WOW!
