KBTV

KBTV::Fingerprinting: A Window into the Mind ... Part III

SCRIPT: (August 16, 2007)

Today we begin our final installment of our three-part series “Fingerprints: A Window into the Mind.” Over the past two days, I’ve explored how scientists are using a technique called “brain fingerprinting” to literally read brain scans to see if potential suspects have specific, incriminating information about a crime – read if they’ve committed a crime. Today we’ll look at two researchers who are building on that technology to create the ultimate lie detector … one that looks inside the brain to unequivocally determine whether or not someone is lying.

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Author James Halperin wrote a 1996 science fiction novel called The Truth Machine, which describes how society would react to the creation of an infallible lie detector machine. His book is set in 2024, which to some may seem silly. But scientists are claiming that advances in brain scanning techniques … make certain that the creation of such a device … such as the one discussed in this piece … a reality in the next five to ten years.

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For decades now law enforcement and government agencies have used polygraph tests to determine whether or not someone is lying. The problem is that even today … the most sophisticated lie detector tests are not 100 percent accurate. In fact, many say they’re no better than just guessing if someone is lying or not – also, my source at the FBI tells me they’re just too easy to beat. Well, all this may soon be a moot point. According to J. Peter Rosenfeld, a professor of psychology at Northwestern University, the science of lie detection may be coming of age with brain scans that literally “see” if a person is lying.

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This week Dr. Daniel Langleben and Dr. Ruben Gur from the University of Pennsylvania released results of a study in which they used a functional MRI to detect whether people were lying. In their study, "Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) of the Brain During Deception," they asked 18 participants to lie about the playing card they were held while being scanned inside an MRI machine.

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By measuring the level of blood flow to specific regions in the brain, the scientists two regions that quote activated … or lit up … when a person lied: the anterior cingulated cortex (located just behind the forehead) and the left premotor cortex (located near the ear). They believe these regions, which are used for attention and judgment, are “activated to suppress or inhibit the truth.” This is interesting stuff, they say, but more studies still need to be done.

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OK. Put on your seatbelt, here. The notion of scanning a person’s brain to determine whether or not they’re lying is complicated by the fact that the person has to KNOW he or she is lying … here you might want to refer back to my two-part series, recently broadcast called The Legacy of Lying. So we’re basically talking about two separate parts of the same issue … one, the person is simply a pathological liar, and he actually believes his own lies … the other is a bit more nuanced ... say an eyewitness to a crime scene … who really, honestly believes she saw what she thinks she saw … but is mistaken.

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As science fiction novelist James Halperin points out in his book The Truth Machine, there are many benefits of having an infallible lie detector machine … catching criminals, identifying terrorists, seeing if politicians are really telling the truth. But are these things worth the costs to our privacy ... such as one's sexual orientation, or unusual religious beliefs, or drug or sexual habits? I’ve always been told the most destructive and pernicious lie is the one someone tells you that he told in order to protect you. But, I want to know what you think … is there any lie that’s a good lie?

Please tell me your thoughts in the comments box below.

posted by katebohner @ 7:14 PM