Overall, there were regional differences in activation between deceptive and truthful conditions. Furthermore, there were more areas of the brain activated during the deception process compared to the truth-telling condition.

Dr. Faro's study is the first to use polygraph correlation and a modified version of positive control questioning techniques in conjunction with fMRI. It is also the first to involve a real-life stimulus. "I believe this is a vital approach to understand this very complex type of cognitive behavior," Dr. Faro said. "The real-life stimulus is critical if this technique is to be developed into a practical test of deception."

Because physiologic responses can vary among individuals and, in some cases, can be regulated, the polygraph is not considered a wholly reliable means of lie detection. According to Dr. Faro, it is too early to tell if fMRI can be "fooled" in the same manner.

However, these results are promising in that they suggest a consistency in brain patterns that might be beyond conscious control.

"We have just begun to understand the potential of fMRI in studying deceptive behavior," Dr. Faro said. "We plan to investigate the potential of fMRI both as a stand-alone test and as a supplement to the polygraph with the goal of creating the most accurate test for deception."

Dr. Faro's co-authors on this paper were Feroze Mohamed, Ph.D., Nathan Gordon, M.S., Steve Platek, Ph.D, Mike Williams, Ph.D., and Harris Ahmad, M.D.

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Contact: Maureen Morley
mmorley@rsna.org
630-590-7762
Radiological Society of North America
29-Nov-2004