Brain scans can spot criminals, scientists say
by Ian Sample Science editor from on (#2FRE0)
Experiments prove judicial distinction between criminal intent and reckless behaviour has scientific merit too
Neuroscientists have used brain scans to spot the difference between people who committed crimes on purpose and those who broke the law through sheer reckless behaviour.
It is the first time that people's intentions, or otherwise, to perform criminal acts have been decoded in a brain scanner, revealing that legal categories used to draw up sentences reflect real brain activity.