90-10/Neural.tech2
From: Paul M. Mullins <FC137501@YSUB.YSU.EDU>
Subject: Re: Neural Interfacing and VR
Date: Sunday, 28 Oct 1990 12:27:53 EDT
Organization: Youngstown State University VM system (YSUB)


Specific references follow...

> From: keithley@applelink.apple.com (Craig Keithley)
> Neural Interfacing (and its application to VR) might be here sooner than
> you think.
>
> Some 15 years ago a UCLA research project successfully used VERY low end
> minicomputers to detect specific thoughts.  The basic idea was/is that it
> possible to pattern match a properly filtered set of brain waves to a
> previously captured sample.  When youUve got a good match, you can respond
> to the command in a manner similar to voice recognition.
>
> I recommend that you go to your local university library, and borrow the
> thesis entitled:
>     Computer System Architecture for a Brain Computer Interface
>     Ronald Olch
>     1975(?)
>
> Mr. Olch is no longer involved with this research... But he did tell me
> that the Principal Researcher was a Jaques (sp?) Vidal.   While Jaques
> hasnUt published under his name, he has been a co-authored a variety of
> papers which have a lot to do with where VR/Neural Interfacing is going.
>
> Craig Keithley, Apple Computer

I did check up on some of this work for a related purpose - measurement of
stress to guage user satisfaction with features of the computer interface
(submited for publication).  The specific references for (some of) J.J. Vidal's
work are (from my notes, originally Comp & Info Syst Abstr):

"Toward direct brain-computer communication,"  J.J. Vidal.  Annual Review
of Biophysics and Bioengineering, Vol 4, p. 157.

"Biocybernetic control in man-machine interaction" (AD-777 720/4GA),
J.J. Vidal.  NTIS, Sprinfield, VA, April 1974, 101 pages.

Same, (N77-15662), J.J. Vidal, M.D. Puck, R.J. Hickman, R.H. Olch.
NTIS, Springfield, VA.  March 1976, 99 pages.

Same, (N77-15663), by Same.  NTIS, Springfield, VA.  September 1975, 82 pp.

"Real-time detection of brain events in EEG," J.J. Vidal.  IEEE Proceedings,
Vol. 65 (5), May 1977, pp. 633-641.

"Generation of ECG prototype waveforms by piecewise correlation averaging,"
Hecht and Vidal.  IEEE Trans on Pattern Analysis & Machine Intelligence,
Vol PAMI-2 (5), September 1980, pp 415-420.

I must admit that I didn't track down all these references since it soon
became obvious that there is a lot of this sort of research.  Most of it
is found in Psychology libraries under the title "evoked potentials."  It
is used for various purposes ranging from measurement of stress and mental
workload (MACINTER has some related articles) to measurement of visual
accuity in children.  It is also used to monitor patients during surgery from
remote sights (Sclabassi, PhD, MD at U Pitt was doing some of this type
of work.

Paul Mullins   FC137501@YSUB.YSU.EDU
