By seeking out patients already scheduled to undergo brain surgery, the researchers were able to place electrode nets directly onto the brains of 15 conscious volunteers (similar to the setup seen here) over a region called the posterior superior temporal gyrus (pSTG), which is believed to play a crucial role in speech comprehension. The volunteers then listened to a series of pre-recorded words for five to ten minutes, while their brain activity was recorded via the electrode nets. (via Breakthrough: The first sound recordings based on reading people’s minds)
