In the Name of Science: My Second Experience as a Figurative Guinea Pig

For the past three weeks or so I have been participating in a scientific study at the Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language. A friend who also participated told me about the BCBL’s need for native English speakers who could competently type, and I figured “why not?” After a quick typing test, which I passed, and confirming that my dental fillings would not interfere with the technology being used, I became the last needed participant (so far). (Jeff figured he wouldn’t pass the typing test, and his permanent retainer probably would have ruled him out anyway.)

So, what did I get myself into with my decision to volunteer? Spending about 20-30 minutes getting wired up to be analyzed by a MEG (magnetoencephalography) device. Then spending a bit more than an hour attached to and in the machine typing 256 mundane sentences while unable to see what I was typing and not looking at the keyboard. Here’s what that looked like:

During each of 10 sessions, I would listen to the sentences but would not start typing them until I was prompted to do so, which required memorization. While the sentences generally made sense, they were often oddly stated or had unusual syntax (e.g., The girl standing behind you is not my sister). I did several double sessions to avoid having to repeat the setup process so many times, which was more efficient, but also tiring. After my tenth session, they also performed an MRI, which was far more tolerable than I had imagined.

The study is part of an effort to evaluate how the brain decodes language and is an example of a promising scientific use of AI. Here’s an excerpt from a summary of the study so far:

To explore how the brain transforms thoughts into intricate sequences of motor actions, we used AI to help interpret the MEG signals while participants typed sentences. By taking 1,000 snapshots of the brain every second, we can pinpoint the precise moment where thoughts are turned into words, syllables, and even individual letters. Our study shows that the brain generates a sequence of representations that start from the most abstract level of representations—the meaning of a sentence—and progressively transform them into a myriad of actions, such as the actual finger movement on the keyboard.

Here’s a link to the quoted article, in case you are interested: https://ai.meta.com/blog/brain-ai-research-human-communication/  I’m told they can see my typing mistakes in my brain before the finger hits the keyboard!

The experience overall was a positive one as the lab specialist I worked with was super nice and it confirmed I still have an ability to focus when required to do so. Because the study is being conducted in English, I spoke English while at the BCBL, which was a bit odd as we almost always speak Spanish outside of our apartment. And it was likely more constructive than my prior experience participating in a vaccine trial during COVID (https://vinoconvino.blogspot.com/search?q=vaccine+trial).

Other than that, we have been back to our routine here after our unexpected trip to the US in January. Our efforts to help Jeff’s Mom adjust to her new life continue as well. We are looking forward to a three-week trip to Morocco that starts soon.

Before I go, here’s a photo from another fun local experience, Lilaton 2026 – San Sebastian’s women’s 5K race, which I did with my friend Connie on March 1:

Happy trails,

Shana