大脑扫描可以区分谎言和实话
NEW YORK, Nov 12 (Reuters Health) - Many people say they can "lie with a straight face," but they may be less able to control the nonvisual evidence of their deceptiveness. Differences in brain activity may distinguish between when an individual is telling a lie and when he or she is telling the truth, according to preliminary study findings.
"This opens the possibility towards improvements of lie detection that can be applied in forensic and business situations," lead investigator Dr. Daniel Langleben of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia told Reuters Health.
In the study, Langleben and his colleagues gave 18 individuals a playing card in an envelope and asked them to conceal the identity of the card upon subsequent investigation. The researchers used MRI scans to identify changes in study participants' brain blood flow during the exercise.
The investigators found that blood flow in certain parts of the brain--the anterior cingulate and the adjacent right superior frontal gyrus--increased when people lied about which card they had.
The anterior cingulate has been reported to be involved in response inhibition, such as inhibition of the truth, Langleben said. Its primary role is believed to be attention and error monitoring.
The prefrontal cortex, commonly believed to be involved in response inhibition, did not exhibit increased blood flow, he added.
"The fact that deception requires extra work in a number of brain regions may indicate that the deception involves inhibition of the 'default' response, e.g. the truth," Langleben said in a statement. "Interestingly, this agrees with the traditional definition of deception dating back to Saint Augustine: 'Deception is denial of truth.'"
The findings were presented during the 31st annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in San Diego, California., 百拇医药
"This opens the possibility towards improvements of lie detection that can be applied in forensic and business situations," lead investigator Dr. Daniel Langleben of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia told Reuters Health.
In the study, Langleben and his colleagues gave 18 individuals a playing card in an envelope and asked them to conceal the identity of the card upon subsequent investigation. The researchers used MRI scans to identify changes in study participants' brain blood flow during the exercise.
The investigators found that blood flow in certain parts of the brain--the anterior cingulate and the adjacent right superior frontal gyrus--increased when people lied about which card they had.
The anterior cingulate has been reported to be involved in response inhibition, such as inhibition of the truth, Langleben said. Its primary role is believed to be attention and error monitoring.
The prefrontal cortex, commonly believed to be involved in response inhibition, did not exhibit increased blood flow, he added.
"The fact that deception requires extra work in a number of brain regions may indicate that the deception involves inhibition of the 'default' response, e.g. the truth," Langleben said in a statement. "Interestingly, this agrees with the traditional definition of deception dating back to Saint Augustine: 'Deception is denial of truth.'"
The findings were presented during the 31st annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in San Diego, California., 百拇医药