The Dangers of Voodoo Science
Featured Article: Tue, 3 February 2009 by Adam Murdock
Among the areas of greatest advance in science in the last ten years has been the development of MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) and its use in the examination of the human brain. Unlike a CT (computed tomography) scan, that measures the relative density of matter and reports the result much like an xray, an MRI can measure changes in flow of water, or in the case of the human body, the changes in blood flow in tissues and in particular the brain. This is important because it is thought that changes in blood flow are related to changes in brain activity. For example, if a particular part of the brain is used when someone feels guilty or is being deceitful then the amount of blood to that area of the brain is thought to increase in order to supply the necessary nutrients and oxygen to that area of the brain. This is much like electricity being diverted to the computer I am typing on when the power in turned on.
Because of the functionality of MRI, much research and tax-payer funded NIH (National Institutes of Health) money has been devoted to determining areas of the brain that are responsible for different emotions and actions. The results of which have graced the pages of the most popular journals including the journals Science and Nature.
So what is wrong with this picture?
Unfortunately, prosecutors and defense attorneys are also eyeing the MRI as a possible "foolproof" lie detector for use in criminal trials. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could just shove everybody in the MRI scanner who is on trial and determine if they are telling the truth or lieing? Not only would it be wonderful but it is in fact happening. There is a case of a woman, Aditi Sharma, that was on trial for murder in India last year who submitted to a Brain Electrical Oscillations Signature Test (BEOS) using MRI. (1) Prosecutors used results of the MRI scan to "prove" the guilt of the woman because certain areas of the brain became active during the MRI that indicated that she might be lieing. Another case that occurred in the United States involved the use of MRI in the defense of Henry Marshall who, accused of capital murder, successfully used MRI to show that the abuse he had suffered as a child has caused atrophy of the decision-making area of his brain and therefore made him incompetent to make decisions. (2)
One might ask what is wrong with having a 'fool-proof' lie detector?
The problem is that the science behind use of MRI in the evaluation of behavior and emotion is far from perfect. In fact, the authors of a recent publication from the prestigious MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) show conclusively that the statistics used to prove correlations between emotions/actions and MRI scans of the brain was no more than "voodoo." (3) In fact, using the same statistical methods that the authors of numerous leaders in this area had used, the authors of "Voodoo Correlations in Social Neuroscience" showed a correlation between the temperature during the day and the stock price of a certain stock on the New York Stock Exchange. The authors comment that this surprising correlation doesn't imply that the two are related but does imply that the published results in many of these MRI studies could be explained by chance alone. In addition, some papers published in the area had correlations that were impossibly high given the inherent level of uncertainty involved in the technique.
From this, it is not hard to see how dangerous the use of flawed science can be especially in the light of the recent conviction of Aditi Sharma. It is precisely because the science is far from perfect that these technologies should be avoided in the legal system. It is up to those of use that have educated ourselves on this issue to reject the premature adoption of these technologies before they have proven value. Otherwise, the imprisonment of you or I could come down to the flip of the MRI coin.
1. Davis, L. (2008). Indian Courts Accepts Brain Scans as evidence of Murder. Retrieved January 3, 2009 from http://io9.com/5050009/indian-court-accepts-brain-scans-as-evidence-of-murder
2. Struten, K. (2009). InterLaw: A New Interdisciplinary Research. Retrieved January 3, 2009 from Law.com website. http://www.law.com/jsp/legaltechnology/pubArticleLT.jsp?id=1202427455426
3. Vul, E., et al. (2008). Voodoo Correlations in Social Neuroscience. Perspectives on Psychological Science. Dec. 23, 2008. Retrieved January 3, 2009 from http://www.pashler.com/Articles/Vul_etal_2008inpress.pdf