September 30, 2013
Toronto, Sept. 30, 2013 – Baycrest Health Sciences takes its world-class brain science to a new stage on Saturday night –Toronto’s all-night arts festival, Scotiabank Nuit Blanche.
Baycrest and University of Toronto have partnered to create My Virtual Dream, an installation that will showcase an unprecedented science experiment that explores how people can collectively synchronize their brain waves to co-create a multi-sensory environment that merges art, science and technology.
The installation will enable participants to use their brain waves to communicate with each other through an immersive audio and visual expression that will be projected onto a 360-degree video screen – all of this taking place inside a 60-foot dome!
Watch livestream of My Virtual Dream from Saturday night
The idea for My Virtual Dream was inspired by Baycrest’s current international project to build a virtual brain – a research and diagnostic tool that could one day revolutionize brain healthcare. Scientists building the computer brain model aim to make it so intricate and detailed as to replicate the complex network functions of a human brain. The Virtual Brain will help doctors to better understand how a patient’s brain has been damaged by dementia, epilepsy, stroke and other disorders, pointing the way to more effective, targeted cognitive rehabilitation treatments.
“Participating in Scotiabank Nuit Blanche is an opportunity to share Baycrest’s renowned strengths in cognitive neuroscience in a highly artistic and interactive way,” said Dr. Randy McIntosh, Vice-President of Research at Baycrest and Director of Baycrest’s Rotman Research Institute.
“We have new and more powerful technologies and an incredible depth of expertise around the world for interpreting and using brain data in ways that are accelerating our understanding of the complex symphony of network connectivity in the human brain. The exciting possibilities for personalized brain care are within our grasp.”
To make this highly complex virtual brain project accessible for the general public attending Scotiabank Nuit Blanche, cognitive neuroscientists with the Rotman Research Institute worked with arts and culture colleagues to dream up a fantastical interactive exhibit.
My Virtual Dream is powered by The Virtual Brain software and uses EEG-based brain computer interface (BCI) to record brain waves from each individual that can be analyzed to indicate a likely mental state (focus or relaxation). Those who participate in one of the group pods inside the dome will put on wireless BCI headsets and use focus or relaxation mental states to complete a science game and to drive the art-exhibit (for example: changing the color of the sky on the large video screen with their brain waves). The panorama of color, images and sound will make for a profound and unforgettable experience for those who participate in this installation.
Watch a short video of My Virtual Dream
Visitors to the dome have two options: they can enter the Dreamery and participate in a dream sequence while wearing BCI headsets, or they can head to the Periphery section and watch the unfolding dream as a spectator.
My Virtual Dream will be located on the grounds of the University of Toronto’s Leslie L. Dan Pharmacy Building at the corner of University Avenue and College Street.
Scotiabank Nuit Blanche starts at 6:52 p.m. on Oct. 5 and ends at 7 a.m. on Oct. 6.
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For more information on this press release, please contact:
Kelly Connelly
Senior Media Officer
Baycrest Health Sciences
kconnelly@baycrest.org
416-785-2432