Reason why BGs lie so much ?

[BuffHello]

Liars' Brains Differ From Those of Honest People, Study Says

 

Sept. 30 (Bloomberg) -- The brains of pathological liars, habitual cheats and manipulators are structurally different than those of honest people, U.S. scientists said.

 

A University of Southern California team studied 49 people and found those known to be liars had up to 26 percent more prefrontal white matter, or wiring in the brain, and less prefrontal gray matter than others, according to the study, published in next month's British Journal of Psychiatry and released today.

 

``White matter may provide liars with the tools necessary to master the complex art of deceit,'' Adrian Raine, professor of psychology at the university and co-author of the study, said on the USC Web site. Gray matter, brain cells connected by white matter, helps keep the impulse to lie in check, he said.

 

While previous research has shown heightened activity in the prefrontal cortex when normal people lie, Raine said this is the first study to provide evidence of structural differences in that area among pathological liars. The findings could be used to help police determine which suspects are lying or help clinicians diagnose who is malingering, making up disability for financial gain, according to the professor.

 

The study argues that the more networking there is in the prefrontal cortex, the area at the front of the brain that enables most people to feel remorse or learn moral behavior, the more a person has the upper hand in lying because their verbal skills are higher, giving them ``almost a natural advantage.''

 

Lying Takes Effort

 

``Lying takes a lot of effort,'' Raine said. ``You have to be able to understand the mindset of the other person. You also have to suppress your emotions or regulate them because you don't want to appear nervous. There's quite a lot to do there. You've got to suppress the truth.''

 

The subjects were taken from a sample of 108 volunteers from five temporary employment agencies in Los Angeles. People under 21 years old or aged over 45 were excluded, as were those who weren't fluent in English, or anyone with a pacemaker, metal implants, a history of epilepsy, or claustrophobia, according to the study.

 

A series of psychological tests and interviews divided the volunteers into three groups of the same social background, ethnicity and I.Q.: 12 were placed in the category of people who had a history of repeated lying (11 men, one woman), 16 were put in the category of those who exhibited signs of antisocial personality disorder but not pathological lying (15 men, one woman), and 21 went into the ``normal'' group (15 men, six women), the study shows.

 

Very Brazen

 

``We looked for things like inconsistencies in their stories about occupation, education, crimes and family background,'' Raine said. ``Pathological liars can't always tell truth from falsehood and contradict themselves in an interview. They are manipulative and they admit they prey on people. They are very brazen in terms of their manner, but very cool when talking about this.''

 

After the subjects were categorized, the researchers used Magnetic Resonance Imaging to explore structural brain differences between the groups.

 

The liars had a 25.7 percent increase in prefrontal white matter compared with the antisocial group and a 22 percent increase compared with the normal group. Liars had a 14.2 percent decrease in prefrontal gray matter compared with the normal group, according to the study.

 

``They've got the equipment to lie'' and aren't inhibited from telling ``big whoppers'' Raine said. ``When people make moral decisions, they are relying on the prefrontal cortex. When people ask normal people to make moral decisions, we see activation in the front of the brain.''

 

Moral Issues

 

``If these liars have a 14 percent reduction in grey matter, that means that they are less likely to care about moral issues or are less likely to be able to process moral issues. Having more gray matter would keep a check on these activities,'' Raine said.

 

The researchers stopped short of asserting that these structural differences account for all lying, saying future studies are required to examine changes in brain anatomy during childhood alongside changes in lying ability.

 

To contact the reporter on this story:

Caroline Alexander in London at Calexander1@bloomberg.net

 

Last Updated: September 30, 2005 06:05 EDT

[FAT_AUSSIE]

i just dont lie because i have too many things to remember allready.

[Flashermac]

How about testing politicians ... or is that what they already did?