Castles in the Sky? Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging as a Forensic Lie Detector

ABSTRACT Many studies have over the past 20 years investigated the detection of lies by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). This review evaluates the ability of the method to distinguish truth‐telling from lies with an eye to applying the method in the forensic context. In addition to issues of the reliability of fMRI as a method, there is the challenge of using results at the group level to pronounce on a specific lie from a specific individual, and also the ease with which countermeasures can successfully be employed by a noncompliant participant. Such difficulties, when combined with the current accuracy of the method, mean that it is not suited for use as a lie detector.