Brain scans are opening new avenues in science, including forensic psychiatry. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is being used to discover new insights into how the brain works and what makes people tick. By studying which areas of the brain “light up” on MRI images, researchers are uncovering differences in how men and women communicate and process information that may lead to stronger relationships at home and more effective relationships in the workplace. Scientists are using MRI research to explore new paths of treating drug, alcohol and nicotine addiction. Recent studies in Europe indicate that brain scans may some day replace lie detector tests in the courtroom.
Instead of using the physical indicators of anxiety — changes in pulse, blood pressure and respiration — measured by a polygraph, fMRIs purport to show whether an individual is lying by which areas of the brain show increased activity. According to an article in Scientific American some entrepreneurs are already trying to capitalize on this, as yet, unproven science. Cephos in Massachusetts and No Lie MRI in California claim to be able to predict with 90% or better accuracy if someone is lying. One firm even advertises its services for “risk reduction in dating.” However, neuroscientists and legal scholars doubt the company’s accuracy claims, saying the science is too new and unproven.
A 2007 article in the American Journal of Law and Medicine by researchers at Stanford University that analyzed existing research on the subject concluded that current studies has failed to prove the validity of fMRIs as a lie detector “at any accuracy level.” Article authors criticized the small number of studies, the failure to replicate results and the fact the most studies focused on groups and not individuals. Concern was also expressed about assumptions being made about MRI results. Scientific consensus has yet to be reached on what illumination of various parts of the brain indicates.
Opinion is divided on when or even if our understanding of how the brain operates will ever be precise enough to consider MRIs dependable courtroom evidence. However, the possibilities are so intriguing that new research is already being funded. The MacArthur Foundation has donated $10 million to a three-year pilot Law and Neuroscience Project to assess how fMRIs and other neuroscience discoveries could affect the law. The day may come when polygraphs are replaced by MRIs.
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