Lie Detection MINI PROJECT
Lie detection is already a sketchy subject when it comes to the law. It is often seen as unreliable considering it only measures heartbeat and how badly someone is sweating, but what if there was a type of lie detection that could test the witness’s brain activity while they are being asked a question? Well, have you ever heard of an fMRI brain scan? An fMRI is a brain scan that detects changes in the brain by following the blood flow unlike an MRI where radio waves and magnetic fields create images of the organs. An fMRI unlike other lie detection methods, tracks the brain's activity instead of the signs of anxiety. This scan could allow cases to have a different set of evidence, but is it too good to be true? Dr. Nita Farahany, a professor at Duke University, participated in an experiment to help give an example of how an fMRI can work and how effective it could be in a courtroom. In the experiment, Dr. Farahany went into an fMRI after seeing a series of faces. For the first scan, she was tested on her ability to recognize any of the faces she had seen earlier. After seeing if Dr. Farahany recognized the faces the first time around, they task her with trying to conceal her memories of the faces from the fMRI. The results ended with a 50/50 chance of the fMRI picking up if Dr. Farahany was “lying” or being truthful. This can prove that the fMRI scans can be just as unreliable as other lie detection methods. This is not the only problem with fMRI lie detection. Say you are an innocent suspect, there is no possible way you committed a crime but are still strictly interrogated as if you had. Would you feel as anxious as someone who was guilty? If there was to be a brain scan of your interrogation then you might be wrongly accused just based on that, especially by a jury. Bringing fMRI lie detection results into a courtroom without any other evidence can cause the jury to name you guilty. This causes judges to be more careful about viewing these results and if you have to be so careful about them, then why even view them? This also counts when it comes to pleading the fifth, your brain can not plead the fifth just because your mouth tells it too. You could possibly self incriminate yourself. For example there was a case in Tennessee where lawyers brought in fMRI lie detection and it was unfit for the courtroom because of it’s unpredictable results. This only means that the fMRI is not ready for courtroom, it will take time for neuroscientist to get it exactly right. Will it end up being an unreliable and unused tactic or become something that is used in all courtrooms if it improves its accuracy? Right now, it is leaning towards unused because of it's many issues, but it might also be able to turn around with many more studies on the ability to pick out concealment. We'll soon find out.
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