Watching your Emotions? This article discusses Mind readers, a study published in Scientific American in 2003. Since this study is still quite recent, it represents research into this topic that is still being done to this day. The MRI is the preferred method of being able to see into the brain since it doesn’t emit any radiation; unlike CT scans and x-ray. Using the MRI machine, they can visualize the brain of an individual, and see what effects different emotions, feelings, and thoughts have of the brain. While MRI scanners have been around since the 70s, the technology has come a long way since then. The Inventors of the MRI, Paul Lauterbur and Peter Mansfield, received a Nobel Peace Prize in 2003 for their work in helping to make medicine what it is today. Using what’s known as a functional MRI scan, the operators have a live video feed of what’s happening in the subject’s brain while they’re in the machine. They could be asked questions, asked to
read a story, or shown pictures so that the scanner operator can see what parts of the brain are affected during these tasks. The physiological explanation for how they are able to do this is that the machine detects changes in the oxygen and glucose levels in the brain. When performing one of these tasks, the part of your brain doing the work will light us on the imaging screen. The researchers formed a hypothesis that the MRI scanner could work as a lie detector. It was proven that the fMRI could. However, they first had to test their hypothesis. They performed a test with two test groups. The first group was given an envelope with a playing card and twenty dollars. They were told to lie about what card they had, and if they could fool the scanner, then they could keep the money. The second group was given just a playing card and told not to lie about it. As you probably guessed, the scanner was able to differentiate between the two groups. The group that told the truth
had only one area of the brain light up. The group that was instructed to lie had two sections of their brain light up; one section for the knowledge of what the card was, and another for the lie that was intended to hide the truth. For use in the courtroom, the MRI scan was proved to be far superior to the traditional polygraph. However, the ability to see inside someone’s head raises serious ethical issues. This study broadens our understanding of just how complex the human brain is. From the outside, the brain looks just like one big mass of cells, but with an MRI scanner, you start to understand how intricate of a computer like system it is. Researchers are at the peak of understanding of how the MRI might be used for other non-medical uses, included in this is the study of Autism spectrum disorder. This new knowledge opens the door of possibility to what we might use MRI scanners for in the future.