The sounds of thought: Detectable or too abstract?

[Cody Richeson]

Technological advances in the last several years (such as Japan's "dream machine") have given us crude glimpses into the visual component of the thought process. Is it possible to do the same with the auditory component of thoughts? Is there any scientific evidence suggesting that thought sounds have a detectable frequency? This is not an attempt at philosophy--I want to know if there's a physical or quantum mechanical basis for these sounds, because I refuse to believe that it's some magical process that can't be explained.

 

[madness]

There is a lot of work on decoding brain activity, but at the moment it isn't particularly sophisticated. Basically, you can present a person's brain with 1000s of stimuli, and measure the resulting brain activity in each case. Then you present a novel stimulus and try to see which of the previous stimuli the brain activity most closely resembles.

Thoughts aren't a real sound, they are the result of activity in neural circuits. On the other hand, every sound you have ever heard was the result of activity in these neural circuits, since that's the only way you can hear. At the moment this does seem a bit magical, since we don't know how brain activity gives rise to a subjective feeling of sounds etc., but people hope to one day understand it.

 

[Cody Richeson]

What do you mean by neural "circuits"? Also, can such circuits be one day decoded, granting us access to the perceived sounds?

 

[madness]

A neural circuit is a loose term used to describe a collection of interconnected neurons which process information by their patterns of activity in response to some kind of an external input. A lot of work in neuroscience at the moment focusses on how these circuits process information. If we can understand how they encode information, we would then be able to decode them as you say. This research topic is called neural (de)coding. Have a look at these links for more information:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neural_coding
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neural_decoding

We can already decode sensory input from neural responses to some extent, but there is a lot of progress needed to really decode thoughts and natural perceived sounds.

 

[LudusRex]

As a scientist, it is important to approach this question with an open mind and consider the available evidence before drawing any conclusions. While there has been some progress in understanding the visual component of the thought process, the auditory component remains largely unexplored.

At this point, there is no scientific evidence to suggest that thought sounds have a detectable frequency. Our current understanding of the brain and its functioning is limited, and we are still far from being able to fully explain the mechanisms behind thought processes.

One challenge in studying thought sounds is the difficulty in isolating and measuring them. Unlike visual stimuli, which can be captured and analyzed through brain imaging techniques, auditory signals are much more complex and harder to pinpoint. Additionally, the subjective nature of thoughts makes it challenging to establish a consistent and measurable baseline for comparison.

However, this does not mean that we should dismiss the possibility of thought sounds altogether. There have been some intriguing studies that suggest a potential link between certain brain activity and auditory signals. For example, a study published in the journal Science in 2015 found that specific patterns of neural activity in the auditory cortex were associated with different speech sounds. This suggests that there may be a connection between auditory signals and thought processes, but further research is needed to fully understand this relationship.

In terms of a physical or quantum mechanical basis for thought sounds, there is currently no evidence to support this idea. The brain is a complex biological organ and its functioning is largely governed by physiological processes, not quantum effects. While there is still much we do not understand about the brain, it is important to base our conclusions on scientific evidence rather than speculation.

In summary, while there is currently no scientific evidence to suggest that thought sounds have a detectable frequency, it is an area that warrants further research. With advancements in technology and a better understanding of the brain, we may one day be able to shed more light on the auditory component of the thought process.