Brain mapping regions associated with fMRI lie detection

Objective:

One newly and hopeful area of investigation is non-invasively measures through functional MRI (fMRI) detection of brain activity in deception. This study uses a mixed-design paradigm test to analyze the activity of brain regions involved in suppression of truth and lie after a mock crime.

Methods:

This study was undertaken in 8 healthy subjects, aged 21 to 36. We instructed the subjects to commit a mock crime in a laboratory setting, consisted in steel a ring or a watch (ring-watch) located in a drawer and take the object to a locker. We applied a mixed-design test (control, neutral and ring-watch questions) while the subjects underwent to fMRI scanning (1.5T). The analysis of the fMRI data was performed with FMRIB SoftwareLibrary (FSL) and both the scanning and the analysis was undertaken by a blind investigator.

Results:

Increased activation was visualized after ring-watch questions in the frontal gyrus (IG), as well as the parietal gyrus. Lieis distinguished from truth by increased parietal and prefrontal activity atentire dorsolateral region – area previously shown to be important in detecting deception¹. Lie was discriminated from truth with an accuracy of about 50% of subjects.

Conclusion:

Our findings suggest that fMRI scanning with a mixed-design paradigm test its less time consuming and in combination with a prudently controlled procedure at laboratory setting could be used to detect deception in some subjects.

Key words: Deception; fMRI, brain region

Reference:

Davatzikos, C., Ruparel, K., Fan, Y., Shen, D. G., Acharyya, M., Loughead, J. W., Langleben, D. D. (2005). Classifying spatial patterns of brain activity with machine learning methods: application to lie detection. NeuroImage, 28(3), 663 – 8. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2005.08.009