The Brain at the End of the Rainbow: The promises of brain scans in the research field and in the media

In a New York Times article, titled “Truth Scan,” accompanied by a series of images of brains showing “accurate” and “false recall,” Dr Schacter is quoted as saying that “this is just a first glimpse of the physical activity underneath the creation of false memories,” and further confides: “I’ve had people ask me whether this could be used as a lie detector – you know, just hook them up and see whether the memory is real. But … it’s all far too complicated, not to mention expensive” (quoted in Hilts 1996: D8). Yet, the article goes on to affirm that “researchers are producing pictures of the brain at work that clearly distinguish false memories from those that are true,” and that “scientists may have captured snapshots of a false memory in the making.” The context given for this research is the McMartin case in California in the 1980s, part of a growing trend of accusations of (ritualistic) child abuse based on “recovered memories,” where no physical evidence can be found (Hilts 1996: D8). Given this presentation of the technology, it is perhaps not surprising that Dr Schacter, author of Searching for Memory, is asked about the potential use of positron emission tomography (PET) as a lie detector.