EyeWire at the Exploratorium

Cognitive Technology, a new exhibit at San Francisco’s Exploratorium, invites visitors to experience the epic intersection of neuroscience, art and design. Opening to the public on Jan 31 and created by m0xy and the Cognitive Technologies Group, this collaborative exhibit will feature interactive games on EEG headsets, an Oculus Rift virtual vasculature brain explorer, and 3D neurons mapped by gamers in EyeWire. We are honored and delighted to contribute to 3Scan‘s Pieces of Mind component, a booth that introduces state of the art neuroimaging and connectomics methods. Special thanks to and Indicated Co for creating the 3d models and helping EyeWire share neuroscience with the world.

EyeWire’s contributions include the video above, featuring the circuit of cells published in our first scientific discovery (Nature, May 2014). Thanks to Matt Irwin and the excellent team at Indicated, we’ve provided files of several EyeWire neurons that visitors can interact with on tablets.

Check out the Exploratorium’s press release or read about the other awesome parts of this exhibit in the excerpt below.

Exhibit runs from Jan 31 through March 1 and is open every Thursday through Sunday from 1 to 4 pm.  If you happen to be in SF and get to check it out, tweet us a pic @eye_wire.

EXHIBITS:

• No Magic Here teaches visitors how EEG headsets are used to measure the changing electrical patterns that show up on the surface of the skin around the head. See how solving a puzzle, having a conversation, or relaxing alters the activity going on in the brain.

• Mind’s Eye demonstrates how neuroimaging technology, known as fMRI, decodes the brain signals that were produced when participants were shown pictures of simple videos. While people watched a video, their brain patterns were recorded. The recordings were so specific that researchers can recognize which video they were watching. Visitors can interact with a 3D model of these brain recordings.

• Change Your Mind looks at the effects that ‘mindfulness’ can have on health by combining EEG with ECG heart rate sensing. A video will walk visitors through a meditation exercise, shifting and changing their heart rate and EEG waves, and giving them an indicator for when they reach a stress-free state.