Speaking Using Only the Power of Thought

One of the most remarkable abilities of animals has always been their communication skills. For example, bees convey information about the location of flowers and their nectar, while ants use unique chemicals called pheromones to share the discovery of food.

Humans have developed the most advanced form of communication: Spoken language.

But what happens when a disability prevents someone from effectively communicating with their surroundings? Soon, this problem may be solved by science.

A scientific breakthrough by researchers from Tel Aviv University and Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center has demonstrated the potential for speech by a silent person using the power of thought only.

The experiment was done on an epilepsy patient who had depth electrodes implanted into deep structures of his brain.

In the first stage of the experiment, the patient repeated two syllables out loud: /a/ and /e/.

Using deep learning, the researchers trained artificial intelligence models to identify the specific brain cells whose electrical activity indicated the desire to say /a/ or /e/.

Once the computer learned to recognize the pattern of electrical activity associated with these two syllables in the patient’s brain, the patient was asked to imagine saying /a/ and /e/. The computer then translated the electrical signals and played the pre-recorded sounds of /a/ or /e/ accordingly.

While this research was done with only two syllables, it was a substantial breakthrough. These findings offer hope for enabling people who are completely paralysed — due to conditions such as ALS, brainstem stroke, or brain injury — to regain the ability to speak voluntarily.

Story: Government of Israel

Image: © Mark Neyman, GPO

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