Breaking Down the Breakthrough: How Scientists at UC Berkeley Used Brainwaves to Recreate Pink Floyd's 1979 Smash

Key Highlights :

1. Scientists have managed to create a version of 's 1979 smash using recordings of patients' brainwaves.

2. The breakthrough was spearheaded by neurologist Professor Robert Knight, who decoded electrical activity from the auditory region of the brain – where sounds are processed – from 29 patients undergoing surgery for epilepsy.

3. The patients had electrodes placed on their brains during the procedure, and were played a three-minute version of the Floyd classic.

4. Artificial intelligence was then used to decode the recordings and rebuild them into an audio file that's recognisably but probably isn't suitable for road-testing expensive hi-fi.

5. “It sounds a bit like they’re speaking underwater, but it’s our first shot at this,” said Knight.

6. Now that we know how to do this, I think if we had electrodes that were like a millimetre and a half apart, the sound quality would be much better.

     Scientists at the University of California in Berkeley, CA, have achieved a remarkable feat: using recordings of patients' brainwaves, they have managed to recreate a version of Pink Floyd's 1979 smash hit "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)". The breakthrough was spearheaded by neurologist Professor Robert Knight, who decoded electrical activity from the auditory region of the brain – where sounds are processed – from 29 patients undergoing surgery for epilepsy.

     The patients had electrodes placed on their brains during the procedure, and were played a three-minute version of the Floyd classic. Artificial intelligence was then used to decode the recordings and rebuild them into an audio file that's recognisably "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)" but probably isn't suitable for road-testing expensive hi-fi. “It sounds a bit like they’re speaking underwater, but it’s our first shot at this,” said Knight.

     Now that the team know how to do this, Professor Knight believes that if they had electrodes that were like a millimetre and a half apart, the sound quality would be much better. It's thought that further work in the field could ultimately help to restore natural speech in patients with neurological conditions such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as Lou Gehrig's disease), the condition guitarist David Gilmour was diagnosed with in 1989. Gilmour currently communicates using his eyes, via a system built by his father.

     The original version of "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)" spent three months in the UK chart following its release in December 1979. It was the first time Pink Floyd had tasted success on the UK singles chart since "See Emily Play" reached No.6 in June 1967.

     This breakthrough has the potential to revolutionise the way we think about neurological conditions, and could provide new hope for those with conditions like ALS. It also demonstrates the power of technology to help us to better understand the brain, and to unlock the potential of its many mysteries. While the sound quality of the experiment's recreation of "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)" may not be suitable for road-testing expensive hi-fi, it is a remarkable achievement and a testament to the power of science and technology.

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