SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
A study has examined brain activity in people engaging in scenarios where they smuggled contraband through a simulated security checkpoint:
The study is unusual because it looks directly at the brains of people while they are engaged in illicit activity, says Liane Young, a Boston College psychologist who was not involved in the work. Earlier research, including work by her, has instead generally looked at the brains of people only observing immoral activity.
Researchers led by Read Montague, a neuroscientist at Virginia Tech Carilion Research Insitute in Roanoke and at University College London, used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), which can measure brain activity based on blood flow. They analyzed the brains of 40 people—a mix of men and women mostly in their 20s and 30s—as they went through scenarios that simulated trying to smuggle something through a security checkpoint. In some cases, the people knew for certain they had contraband in a suitcase. In other cases, they chose from between two and five suitcases, with only one containing contraband (and thus they weren't sure they were carrying contraband). The risk of getting caught also varied based on how many of the 10 security checkpoints had a guard stationed there.
The results showed distinctive patterns of brain activity [open, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1619385114] [DX] for when the person knew for certain the suitcase had contraband and when they only knew there was a chance of it, the team reports today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. But there was an unexpected twist. Those differing brain patterns only showed up when people were first shown how many security checkpoints were guarded, and then offered the suitcases. In that case, a computer analysis of the fMRI images correctly classified people as knowing or reckless between 71% and 80% of the time.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 17 2017, @01:34AM (1 child)
I also wondered if they compared it to more mundane brain patterns, like playing a video game. If they know where the guards are, aren't they just basically playing a make-believe game?
I'm certain they think they've found the ever elusive truth serum.
Just a matter of time until we have a brainwave based polygraph machine that will lead to endless harassment of innocent people while trained criminals slip right through.
(Score: 2) by looorg on Friday March 17 2017, @02:12AM
If it was a computer game I would run up to the checkpoint vigorously strafing from left to right - holding my .50 caliber sniper rifle in one hand and the illicit items in the other - as I get closer I toss two grenades in the proximity of the checkpoint to make sure there are no enemies around. If I find any guards about I shot them at point blank range, for the lolz I'll knife one of them from behind just to show myself and the psychologists running the test my 'lite skillz. If things didn't work out I'll run over the nearby giant package with the big red cross on it and all will be right in the world again.
* * *
I do hope that a brain-scan won't be required to go thru customs in the future. It just doesn't seem practical to put everyone passing the checkpoint thru an MRI. Plus the lines will be enormous since it takes a while and you have to be perfectly still and so on. Since they analyzed 40 college students - usually the sort of guineapigs that sign up for these sort of things for some easy cash or college credits. There might be a difference between people being older and non-academics, there might also be differences between people from other countries that might be nervous for other things as they pass the checkpoint. It might also have been interesting if, as you note, they might have made a distinction between people that are shall we say avid gamers and non-gamers to see if they behaved differently or not based on previous gaming experience. Since from the looks of it they did indeed play some kind of computer game. Considering all the previous "research" about how games turns kids into killers and such it just make take more to have an effect on those people or they might just be more used to subterfuge.