<p><a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0111332" rel="noreferrer">Rao et al. 2014</a> claims to be the first demonstration of a brain-brain interface in humans, using EEG and TMS.</p>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>Abstract</strong></p>
<p>We describe the first direct brain-to-brain interface in humans and present results from experiments involving six different subjects. Our non-invasive interface, demonstrated originally in August 2013, combines electroencephalography (EEG) for recording brain signals with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) for delivering information to the brain. We illustrate our method using a visuomotor task in which two humans must cooperate through direct brain-to-brain communication to achieve a desired goal in a computer game. The brain-to-brain interface detects motor imagery in EEG signals recorded from one subject (the “sender”) and transmits this information over the internet to the motor cortex region of a second subject (the “receiver”). This allows the sender to cause a desired motor response in the receiver (a press on a touchpad) via TMS. We quantify the performance of the brain-to-brain interface in terms of the amount of information transmitted as well as the accuracies attained in (1) decoding the sender’s signals, (2) generating a motor response from the receiver upon stimulation, and (3) achieving the overall goal in the cooperative visuomotor task. Our results provide evidence for a rudimentary form of direct information transmission from one human brain to another using non-invasive means.</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-05-05T12:39:54.620Z
2015-08-22T13:06:16.833Z
2020-06-17T09:55:31.633Z
Josh
<p>There were 2 pioneering papers published in 2014, both claiming to be the first in humans.</p>

<p><a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0105225" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Grau et al (2014)</a> was published first (August), but the actual experiment was conducted later (March 2014):</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Here we show how to link two human minds directly by integrating two
  neurotechnologies – BCI and CBI –, fulfilling three important
  conditions, namely a) being non-invasive, b) cortically based, and c)
  consciously driven (Fig. 1). In this framework we provide the first
  demonstration of non-invasive direct communication between human
  minds.</p>
</blockquote>

<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/EoEBc.png" alt="enter image description here"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/MVHne.png" alt="enter image description here"></p>

<p><a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0111332" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Rao et al (2014)</a> (mentioned by @Josh) was published later (November), but the experiment itself was conducted earlier (August 2013).</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>We describe the first direct brain-to-brain interface in humans and
  present results from experiments involving six different subjects. Our
  non-invasive interface, demonstrated originally in August 2013,
  combines electroencephalography (EEG) for recording brain signals with
  transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) for delivering information to
  the brain. ... Our results provide evidence for a rudimentary form of
  direct information transmission from one human brain to another using
  non-invasive means.</p>
</blockquote>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/uJESX.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/uJESX.png" alt="enter image description here"></a><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/dmUI8.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/dmUI8.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

<p>Both experiments used an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electroencephalography" rel="nofollow noreferrer">EEG</a> to detect activity in the brain of the sender, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcranial_magnetic_stimulation" rel="nofollow noreferrer">TMS</a> to stimulate activity in the brain of the receiver.  The 2 experiments had slightly different approaches however.  In the Rao et al study, the motor cortex was used, whereby the sender clicking a mouse caused the receiver's hand to twitch.  This was used to play a simple video game where one player had access to information that the other player did not.  In the Grau et al study, the sender's motor cortex was also used, but on the receiver side, the TMS was directed to the occipital lobe - the visual cortex - causing flashes of light to appear to the receiver.  This set up was used to deliver a message, rather like a telegraph, using encoded "bits" (1s and 0s represented by the light flashes).  This is more like telepathy, albeit a very primitive version of it.</p>

<p>A <a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/miguel_nicolelis_brain_to_brain_communication_has_arrived_how_we_did_it" rel="nofollow noreferrer">TED talk by Miguel Nicolelis</a> on Brain-to-Brain interfaces, mostly focusing on rats and monkeys, but he mentions about humans at the end.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-05-16T08:40:48.217Z
2015-08-21T23:37:55.670Z
2015-08-21T23:37:55.670Z
Arnon Weinberg
<p>Is there an existing research area focusing on brain to brain interfaces?  If so, what are some papers that have been published in this area?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-05-15T07:04:16.033Z
http://www.nature.com/srep/2013/130228/srep01319/full/srep01319.html
shows brain to brain interface in rats
honi
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-09-13T15:09:28.377Z
See this blog post with a reference list at the end: https://scanberlin.com/2016/06/09/brain-to-brain-interfaces/
S.A.
<reference-request><theoretical-neuroscience><brain-computer-interface>
What research has been done on brain-to-brain interfaces?
Xingdong Zuo
# What research has been done on brain-to-brain interfaces?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-05-04)

Is there an existing research area focusing on brain to brain interfaces? If so, what are some papers that have been published in this area?

**Tags:** reference-request, theoretical-neuroscience, brain-computer-interface

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: http://www.nature.com/srep/2013/130228/srep01319/full/srep01319.html shows brain to brain interface in rats  
> **username_2**: See this blog post with a reference list at the end: https://scanberlin.com/2016/06/09/brain-to-brain-interfaces/  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2015-05-05. Score: 10

[Rao et al. 2014](http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0111332) claims to be the first demonstration of a brain-brain interface in humans, using EEG and TMS.

> **Abstract**
>
> We describe the first direct brain-to-brain interface in humans and present results from experiments involving six different subjects. Our non-invasive interface, demonstrated originally in August 2013, combines electroencephalography (EEG) for recording brain signals with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) for delivering information to the brain. We illustrate our method using a visuomotor task in which two humans must cooperate through direct brain-to-brain communication to achieve a desired goal in a computer game. The brain-to-brain interface detects motor imagery in EEG signals recorded from one subject (the “sender”) and transmits this information over the internet to the motor cortex region of a second subject (the “receiver”). This allows the sender to cause a desired motor response in the receiver (a press on a touchpad) via TMS. We quantify the performance of the brain-to-brain interface in terms of the amount of information transmitted as well as the accuracies attained in (1) decoding the sender’s signals, (2) generating a motor response from the receiver upon stimulation, and (3) achieving the overall goal in the cooperative visuomotor task. Our results provide evidence for a rudimentary form of direct information transmission from one human brain to another using non-invasive means.


---

### Answer by username_4 on 2015-05-16. Score: 6

There were 2 pioneering papers published in 2014, both claiming to be the first in humans.

[Grau et al (2014)](http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0105225) was published first (August), but the actual experiment was conducted later (March 2014):

> Here we show how to link two human minds directly by integrating two
> neurotechnologies – BCI and CBI –, fulfilling three important
> conditions, namely a) being non-invasive, b) cortically based, and c)
> consciously driven (Fig. 1). In this framework we provide the first
> demonstration of non-invasive direct communication between human
> minds.

![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/EoEBc.png)![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/MVHne.png)

[Rao et al (2014)](http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0111332) (mentioned by @username_3) was published later (November), but the experiment itself was conducted earlier (August 2013).

> We describe the first direct brain-to-brain interface in humans and
> present results from experiments involving six different subjects. Our
> non-invasive interface, demonstrated originally in August 2013,
> combines electroencephalography (EEG) for recording brain signals with
> transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) for delivering information to
> the brain. ... Our results provide evidence for a rudimentary form of
> direct information transmission from one human brain to another using
> non-invasive means.

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/uJESX.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/uJESX.png)[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/dmUI8.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/dmUI8.png)

Both experiments used an [EEG](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electroencephalography) to detect activity in the brain of the sender, and [TMS](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcranial_magnetic_stimulation) to stimulate activity in the brain of the receiver. The 2 experiments had slightly different approaches however. In the Rao et al study, the motor cortex was used, whereby the sender clicking a mouse caused the receiver's hand to twitch. This was used to play a simple video game where one player had access to information that the other player did not. In the Grau et al study, the sender's motor cortex was also used, but on the receiver side, the TMS was directed to the occipital lobe - the visual cortex - causing flashes of light to appear to the receiver. This set up was used to deliver a message, rather like a telegraph, using encoded "bits" (1s and 0s represented by the light flashes). This is more like telepathy, albeit a very primitive version of it.

A [TED talk by Miguel Nicolelis](http://www.ted.com/talks/miguel_nicolelis_brain_to_brain_communication_has_arrived_how_we_did_it) on Brain-to-Brain interfaces, mostly focusing on rats and monkeys, but he mentions about humans at the end.


---

