sterling crispin				info
global neurofeedback terminal on exhibit at likeartbasel as a part of art basel miami 2011
emerging brain-computer interface technologies are expanding the range of human expression, consciousness and human potential. I seek to dissolve notions of the self, attachment to the self, and increase empathy between people in order to reduce human suffering. this work is centered around the concept of neurofeedback. when viewing the live readings of ones brain, one can alter the wavelengths at which ones brain is operating. monitoring and observing live EEG readings is commonly used within neurofeedback therapy for conditions like ADHD, epilepsy, autism, headaches, insomnia and anxiety. often times patients of such therapy are not consciously aware of the methods in which such changes are happening but experience a sense that positive change has occurred and can recall the altered brain states they achieved during therapy outside of the lab. the terminal depicts a future event in which a globally connected network of participants wearing EEG brain-computer interfaces attempt to synchronize their brains. by displaying the average of thousands, millions or billions of live readings back to the participants, their minds could slowly become closer to the average reading, effectively entering into an empathetic resonance feedback loop. this concept is currently theoretical and I am continually researching and developing practical applications and methods of implementing this vision. I anticipate a global empathetic reasonance feedback loop to be an eventual outcome to the advancement and distribution of brain scanning technology. through this I hope to enact a computer aided global awakening of empathy and compassion between people of the world. i would anticipate that participants within my proposed experiment would also be able to recall the average brain state experience outside of the experiment and thus be able to quickly recall a heightened state of empathy or understanding toward others and dissolving of their concept of self. phrases like, "do you see what i mean" and "do you know how i feel" could one day literally become a thing of the past as the resolution of our shared experiences heightens through the advancement of brain scanning technology, virtual reality and the internet. what could emerge from such a large percentage of the earths population reaching this heightened shared experience and synchronizing their brains together to the same wavelength is something i can only speculate about, but i expect it to have a profound impact on society as a whole. EEG or electroencephalography is defined as the recording of electrical activity along the scalp produced by the firing of neurons within the brain. rather than measuring the subtly of individual neurons firing EEG systems rely on the emergent pulses of millions of neurons which all fire simultaneously in wave patterns. amplitude, phase, frequency and coherence of these signals as well as rhythmic neuronal oscillations of the delta, theta, alpha, beta, gama and mu brainwaves are all measured with great accuracy. several consumer grade EEG scanners are now available on the market. the price point will eventually reach a level where most households have EEG devices in them and they will become as ubiquitous as the cellphone. in fact cellphones and personal internet ready devices are a likely candidate for the eventual global distribution of this technology.