頭脳の映像技術の呼ばれたfMRIは濫用の不信頼性そして可能性上の心配にもかかわらず米国の情報機関による「嘘発見器」が、一流の学者要求したので使用されるかもしれない。

米国のペンシルバニアの州立大学のジョナサンMarks、bioethicistおよびロンドンのマトリックスの部屋の弁護士教授は彼が信じる法律および薬のアメリカジャーナルの記事で、恐怖の容疑者の質問の機能磁気共鳴イメージ投射(fMRI)の使用は「想像の世界からの事実への転移を」始めたことを言う。

He draws this belief from the unpublished views of a senior US interrogator, who is quoted in Prof Mark’s article as claiming that processes developed by “neuro-psychologists at London’s University College and Mossad” are “now being used to screen terrorists” with “great results”.

Further, a Department of Defence directive speaks of the need to include other “technical devices” to bolster the traditional polygraph lie detector in its “credibility assessment” of terror suspects.

Prof Marks warns of the “risk of mistreatment and abuse” of interrogation subjects in the event of a false positive.

While it has been suggested in recent years that the technique could possibly be used for lie detection, as lying uses different parts of the brain to telling the truth, there has previously been little suggestion that it is in current use.

fMRI techniques have been used for over a decade in diagnostic situations, to view brain tumours and other disorders. They work by using powerful magnetic fields to map tiny differences in oxygen usage in brain cells.

Since active cells use more oxygen than inactive ones, it is possible to see what brain areas are working when a statement is made - and in theory, whether it is a lie or a genuine memory.

However, Prof Marks says that while the technique has been tested on healthy people in low-stress environments, it is unclear whether they will work on terror suspects who may be being held in high-stress situations and who may have mental health issues that could be exacerbated by their incarceration.

Prof Marks also worries that while the images created require subtle interpretation, they may inspire false confidence in interrogators, leading to more aggressive treatment. This is particularly a concern in the wake of President George W Bush’s March 8 veto of legislation that would have prohibited the CIA using aggressive interrogation methods.

“One of the real concerns I have is that you can see how people can begin to say ‘the fMRI picked him out as a terrorist so let us give him a going over in the interrogation room,’ ” Prof Marks said in an interview with the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s website EurekAlert.

“Contrary to the view that fMRI will render torture obsolete, it might become a license for further abuse of detainees because its readings will convince people that they have a terrorist on their hands.”

However, Professor Daniel Langleben, a psychiatrist who specialises in brain imaging techniques at Penn State, says that such concerns are unfounded.

“Lie detection is not mind-reading. We do not detect terrorists, just deception,” he said.

Tom Chivers

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