Neuroscientists developing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) as a tool for detecting lies believe the technology is nearly ready for use beyond the laboratory.

A team at the University of Pennsylvania has developed a way of reading fMRI scans that is claimed to be capable of telling lies from the truth with 99 per cent accuracy.

Daniel Langleben, who is leading the research, told the journal Nature: “We can’t say whether this person will one day use a bomb, but we can use fMRI to find concealed information. We can ask: is X involved in terrorist organisation Y?”

The technique works by monitoring activity in the frontal lobes of the brain, which have to work harder than normal when giving answers that are not truthful. Rugen Gur, a colleague of Dr Langleben, said: “A lie is always more complicated than the truth. You think a bit more and fMRI picks that up.”

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