a method analyzing event - related potentials , and their respective p300 brain wave responses of a subject to a repeatedly presented stimulus interspersed with non - significant stimuli . the method comprises providing a source of stimulation to the subject including personal knowledge and non - significant stimuli , detecting event related potentials of the subject , translating these potentials to p300 brain waves , and analyzing the p300 brain wave activity for personal knowledge detection . a computer is is utilized to interpret and analyze the responses for personal knowledge .