fMRI and Lie Detection
5 Pages
Posted: 23 Dec 2016
Stanford University - Psychology
University of Virginia - School of Law
Yale University - Department of Psychology
US Court of Appeals - Fourth Circuit
University of California Hastings College of the Law
Second Judicial District Court Judge, State of Colorado
Vanderbilt University - Law School & Dept. of Biological Sciences
Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University - Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute
University of Pennsylvania Law School
Washington University School of Medicine
Yale University - Department of Psychology
Columbia University - Law School
Temple University
New York University School of Law
Yale Law School
Date Written: 2016
Abstract
Some studies have reported the ability to detect lies, with a high degree of accuracy, by analyzing brain data acquired using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). But is this new technology ready for its day in court?
This consensus knowledge brief from the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Law and Neuroscience takes a closer look at the potential and pitfalls of fMRI lie detection techniques, providing insight into the areas of the brain involved in lying, the impact of memory on deception, how countermeasures may foil our efforts to detect lies, and factors that can create cause for concern about experimental validity.
Keywords: lie detection, polygraph, memory, deception, evidence, neuroscience, law and neuroscience, neurolaw, brain, brain imaging, brain scan, neuroimaging, functional magnetic resonance imaging, fMRI, behavioral biology, cognitive neuroscience, cognitive psychology
JEL Classification: K14, K40, K42
Suggested Citation:
Suggested Citation
Wagner, Anthony D. and Bonnie, Richard J. and Casey, BJ and Davis, Andre and Faigman, David L. and Hoffman, Morris B. and Jones, Owen D. and Montague, Read and Morse, Stephen and Raichle, Marcus E. and Richeson, Jennifer A. and Scott, Elizabeth S. and Steinberg, Laurence and Taylor-Thompson, Kim A. and Yaffe, Gideon, fMRI and Lie Detection (2016). MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Law and Neuroscience, 2016
; Vanderbilt Law Research Paper No. 17-10. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2881586
