Brain Scans More Accurate Than Polygraph Tests at Detecting Lies, Study Finds

When it comes to finding who is telling the truth, it is never easy. Psychiatrists had specified different body language that helps indicate when a person is lying. However, there are truly no definitive means to check whether or not a person is being dishonest.

To solve this issue, a device called polygraph was developed, which, in theory, can provide tell-tale signs whether a person is lying depending on bodily impulses such as breathing, heart rate, and the like. The polygraph test, known as the lie detector, can also measure and record blood pressure, pulse, respiration, and skin conductivity. A person's vital signs can significantly vary whenever the person is asked a series of questions. Since this device has been developed in the twenties, it may be about time that new technologies supersede and outdate the lie detector.

New researches have indicated that there are better means of finding out whether a person is lying or not. A research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania has discovered that certain indicators in the brain can be used to detect lying using scans from a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). This research has indicated that an fMRI scan can provide an almost 90 percent accuracy in detecting deception. According to the results obtained, there are certain parts of the brain that light up on fMRI scans when a person is required to make decisions, and effectively deciding whether to lie or not can be one of them.

This method is effective because it is approximated to be about 24 percent more likely to detect dishonesty than normal lie detector tests.

This discovery could be very helpful in case investigations all over the world as it may give the possibility of providing scientific evidence to deceitfulness, therefore making eye witness accounts more reliable in the future.