We're One Step Closer To Brain Scans That Can Reveal Criminal Intent

What if lawyers could prove that a person knowingly committed a crime by looking at scans of his or her brain? It sounds like something from a science fiction story, but a new study suggests that we may be one step closer to this reality. In the study, researchers analyzed brain scans and were able to pinpoint patterns of brain activity that predicted whether people committed certain acts “knowingly,” meaning that they knew without a doubt that they were committing a crime; or merely “recklessly,” meaning that they were not certain that they were committing a crime. And although much more research is needed before this type of technique would be reliable enough that it could be used in a court of law, the study suggests that in the future, it may be possible to determine the mental state of a defendant using neuroscience. [10 Things You Didn’t Know About the Brain] The mental state of a person at the time that he or she commits a crime can have major implications, according to the study, published today (March 13) in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. “Imagine you are a juror in the trial of a defendant who admits to having transported a suitcase full of drugs across international borders,” the researchers wrote in the study. “However, you do not know how aware she was of the presence of the drugs in that suitcase. The degree of awareness she had at the time she crossed the border will make the differen...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news