Brain Scanners Can See Your Decisions Before You Make Them

In a world where everyone has become accustomed to the idea of free will, new studies are showing that maybe we may not have so much of it after all. According to Wired.com writer Brandon Klein, researchers used brain scanners in a new study to predict people’s decisions a whole seven seconds before the test subjects were conscious of making these decisions.

In the study, test subjects were asked to press a button either with their left or right hand, and scientists studied changes in neural patterns using an MRI machine. Results showed increased brain activity in the “high-level planning” and “sensory integration” areas of the brain before the test subjects hit the button, and the predictions were accurate every time.

Coming back to the question of free will, there are possibilities that the brain has the ability to make last-minute decisions that throw off this cycle of decision-making that we have no control over, but scientists say this is unlikely. Additionally, scientists admit that when it comes to big, real-life decisions—for example: should I go to this university?—the brain scanners aren’t as helpful in letting us know how these decisions are made.

http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2008/04/mind_decision

-Peter Rutti