While teleportation is far from being a reality, studying how the brain would respond to it is something equally interesting. Neuroscientists from the University of California, Davis conducted an experiment and it yielded results that challenge existing understandings.
Lead author Arne Ekstrom says the concept that sensory input is a basic factor that dictates how people perceive space has been dominant for numerous decades.
"Our results fundamentally challenge this viewpoint and thus require revision of models we have assumed to be correct for quite some time," she says.
Simulating Teleportation
For the experiment, the researchers involved three patients diagnosed with seizures. They documented the electrical nerve activity of the subjects via electroencephalography (EEG).
While at it, the participants were subjected to a virtual reality experience of teleportation. Such measure enables them to experience how movement goes in space without visual or self-motion prompts.
The predominance and extent of low-frequency neural activity in the part of the brain called hippocampus, which is responsible for spatial navigation, remains unchanged. This means that sensorimotor processing is not a vital ingredient to derive navigation.
Looking at the numbers of prevalent oscillations or swinging movement during teleportation, the researchers found spatial data that have the ability to categorize the distance of teleportation.
The results show that sensory data associated with movement is not necessary to generate low-frequency oscillations in the hippocampus while navigating.
Confirming Findings
The researchers conducted further experiments to ensure that oscillations during teleportation were really associated with movement. They conducted a control trial, wherein participants were studied during fake teleportation scenarios. As expected, hippocampal oscillations plummeted.
Mystery Never Stops
The greatest mystery now is the specific information contained in the recorded oscillations. The researchers have not figured out that one yet and it looks as if no will be able to do so in the near future.
The study was published in the journal Neuron.
Photo: Kevin Simpson | Flickr
