The Autodidacts

Exploring the universe from the inside out

First Steps in Amateur Neuroscience

OpenBCI Logo

The button has finally been pressed. After months of waiting—and saving up—my pre-order for an OpenBCI board has been placed.

The OpenBCI is an open-hardware, open-software ‘Brain Computer Interface’ capable of capturing brain activity (EEG), muscle activity (EMG), heart rate (EKG), and more.

I’m going to chronicle my work with the OpenBCI and experiments in amateur neuroscience here on Autodidacts. As soon as I get my hands on the hardware, which should be in October, I’ll start with a tutorial on getting the OpenBCI set up.

chipKit OpenBCI
Although I’m more familiar with Arduino, I ordered the 32bit chipKit version to have the option of using 16 electrodes in the future.


I’m excited about combining combining my interests in web development, music, and writing and using the OpenBCI map how different types of music and literature effect consciousness as my first project. I will document the project and my findings here, so stay tuned!

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