Brain Scan abused as Lie Detector

Edinburgh, The brain of people who lie will 'glow' in specified areas when seen from the scan or brain scan. Unfortunately the process of scanning the brain much abused as a lie detector.

Yet to read the scans of the brain health not only result solely from pictures alone, need the ability to further understanding.

Brain scans are now widely used as lie detectors by the company in receiving the employee, the court until the insurance company.

Unfortunately, the use by the parties not only be a comprehensive look at the results of the drawing only. Then the results were used as evidence as though it had the power equipment.

Experts worry that a scan tool can find electrical activity of brain cells has been misused by the courts, insurers and employers as a lie detector.

At least one U.S. company to offer brain scans to entrepreneurs, which is used for employee recruitment. But American courts have been ready to reject its use in legal proceedings.

Burkhard Schafer University of Edinburgh said there are privacy issues that interfere with the reliability of this technology. This issue is being discussed by experts from around the world at a conference at the Institute of Advanced Studies in Glasgow.

More than 90 death penalty cases in the United States, as well as other processes in Europe and Asia have used MRI scans (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) as a lie detector or to indicate mental health problems. Even if it is rejected in most cases, test results sometimes accepted as evidence.

"England should consider how to prevent the misuse of MRI scans and how to protect the privacy of people," said Burkhard Schafer, co-director of SCRIPT Centre for Research in Intellectual Property and Technology at the School of Law, University of Edinburgh, as reported by the BBC, Tuesday (8 / 6 / 2010).

Schafer added there are also employers or insurance companies who are looking for opportunities to use these brain scans to test the honesty of curriculum vitae (CV) of prospective employees.

"MRI scans should not be used in this way, the people who do not understand science," said Schafer.

Joanna Wardlaw, professor of neuroimaging applications Edinburgh University, said that brain scans can be blamed is meant for people who do not understand the true science. People who are not in the research environment will think differently about this brain scan.

"It is difficult to apply the results of scans a person in a situation like this, where there are threats of legal action. The result of a scan that offers a reliable and interesting pictures, many companies make them interesting bag. But there must be understanding so much more to it," added Wardlaw .

Professor Geraint Rees, director of the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, expressed concern about the potential use of a scan that started to appear now.