Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Topic: BRAIN FINGERPRINTING
Abstract:
Brain fingerprinting is based
on finding that the brain generates a unique brain wave pattern when a person
encounters a familiar stimulus Use of functional magnetic resonance imaging
in lie detection derives from studies suggesting that persons asked
to lie show different patterns of brain activity than they do when
being truthful. Issues related to the use of such evidence in courts
are discussed. The author concludes that neither approach is
currently supported by enough data regarding its accuracy in
detecting deception to warrant use in court.
In the field of criminology, a new
lie detector has been developed in the United States of America . This is
called “brain fingerprinting”. This invention is supposed to be the best lie
detector available as on date and is said to detect even smooth criminals who
pass the polygraph test (the conventional lie detector test) with ease. The new
method employs brain waves, which are useful in detecting whether the person
subjected to the test, remembers finer details of the crime. Even if the person
willingly suppresses the necessary information, the brain wave is sure to trap
him, according to the experts, who are very excited about the new kid on the
block.
Introduction:
Brain Fingerprinting is a
controversial proposed investigative technique that measures recognition of
familiar stimuli by measuring electrical brain wave responses to words,
phrases, or pictures that are presented on a computer screen. Brain
fingerprinting was invented by Lawrence Farwell. The theory is that the
suspect's reaction to the details of an event or activity will reflect if the
suspect had prior knowledge of the event or activity. This test uses what
Farwell calls the MERMER ("Memory and Encoding Related Multifaceted
Electroencephalographic Response") response to detect familiarity reaction.
One of the applications is lie detection.
Dr. Lawrence A. Farwell has invented, developed, proven, and patented the
technique of Farwell Brain Fingerprinting, a new computer-based technology to
identify the perpetrator of a crime accurately and scientifically by measuring
brain-wave responses to crime-relevant words or pictures presented on a
computer screen. Farwell Brain Fingerprinting has proven 100% accurate in over
120 tests, including tests on FBI agents, tests for a US
What is Brain Fingerprinting?
Brain Fingerprinting is designed to determine
whether an individual recognizes specific information related to an event or
activity by measuring electrical brain wave responses to words, phrases, or
pictures presented on a computer screen. The technique can be applied
only in situations where investigators have a sufficient amount of specific
information about an event or activity that would be known only to the
perpetrator and investigator. In this respect, Brain Fingerprinting is
considered a type of Guilty Knowledge Test, where the "guilty" party
is expected to react strongly to the relevant detail of the event of activity.
Existing (polygraph) procedures for assessing the validity of a suspect's "guilty" knowledge rely on measurement of autonomic arousal (e.g., palm sweating and heart rate), while Brain Fingerprinting measures electrical brain activity via a fitted headband containing special sensors. Brain Fingerprinting is said to be more accurate in detecting "guilty" knowledge distinct from the false positives of traditional polygraph methods, but this is hotly disputed by specialized researchers.
Existing (polygraph) procedures for assessing the validity of a suspect's "guilty" knowledge rely on measurement of autonomic arousal (e.g., palm sweating and heart rate), while Brain Fingerprinting measures electrical brain activity via a fitted headband containing special sensors. Brain Fingerprinting is said to be more accurate in detecting "guilty" knowledge distinct from the false positives of traditional polygraph methods, but this is hotly disputed by specialized researchers.
Technique:
The person to be tested wears a special
headband with electronic sensors that measure the electroencephalography from
several locations on the scalp. In order to calibrate the brain fingerprinting
system, the testee is presented with a series of irrelevant stimuli, words, and
pictures, and a series of relevant stimuli, words, and pictures. The test
subject's brain response to these two different types of stimuli allow the
testor to determine if the measured brain responses to test stimuli, called
probes, are more similar to the relevant or irrelevant responses.
The
technique uses the well known fact that an electrical signal known as P300 is emitted from an individual's brain
approximately 300 milliseconds after it is confronted with a stimulus of
special significance, e.g. a rare vs. a common stimuls or a stimulas the
proband is asked to count. The novel interpretation in brain fingerprinting is
to look for P300 as response to stimuli related to the crime in question e.g.,
a murder weapon or a victim's face. Because it is based on EEG signals, the
system does not require the testee to issue verbal responses to questions or
stimuli.
Brain
fingerprinting uses cognitive brain responses, brain fingerprinting does not
depend on the emotions of the subject, nor is it affected by emotional
responses. Brain fingerprinting is fundamentally different from the polygraph (lie-detector),
which measures emotion-based physiological signals such as heart rate,
sweating, and blood pressure. Also, unlike polygraph testing, it does not
attempt to determine whether or not the subject is lying or telling the truth.
Four phases
of Farwell Brain Fingerprinting:
In fingerprinting and DNA
fingerprinting, evidence recognized and collected at the crime scene, and
preserved properly until a suspect is apprehended, is scientifically compared
with evidence on the person of the suspect to detect a match that would place
the suspect at the crime scene. Farwell Brain Fingerprinting works similarly,
except that the evidence collected both at the crime scene and on the person of
the suspect (i.e., in the brain as revealed by electrical brain responses) is
informational evidence rather than physical evidence. There are four stages to
Farwell Brain Fingerprinting, which are similar to the steps in fingerprinting
and DNA fingerprinting:
1. Brain Fingerprinting Crime Scene Evidence Collection;
2. Brain Fingerprinting Brain Evidence Collection;
3. Brain Fingerprinting Computer Evidence Analysis; and
4. Brain Fingerprinting Scientific Result.
In the Crime Scene Evidence
Collection, an expert in Farwell Brain Fingerprinting examines the crime scene
and other evidence connected with the crime to identify details of the crime
that would be known only to the perpetrator. The expert then conducts the Brain
Evidence Collection in order to determine whether or not the evidence from the
crime scene matches evidence stored in the brain of the suspect. In the
Computer Evidence Analysis, the Farwell Brain Fingerprinting system makes a
mathematical determination as to whether or not this specific evidence is
stored in the brain, and computes a statistical confidence for that
determination. This determination and statistical confidence constitute the
Scientific Result of Farwell Brain Fingerprinting: either "information
present" – the details of the crime are stored in the brain of the suspect
– or "information absent" – the details of the crime are not stored
in the brain of the suspect.
Applications:
Counter terrorism:
Brain
fingerprinting can help address the following critical elements in the fight against
terrorism:
1: Aid
in determining who has participated in terrorist acts, directly or indirectly.
2: Aid
in identifying trained terrorists with the potential to commit future
terrorist acts, even if they are in a “sleeper” cell and have not been active
for years.
3: Help
to identify people who have knowledge or training in banking, finance or
communications and who are associated with terrorist teams and acts.
4: Help
to determine if an individual is in a leadership role within a terrorist
organization.
Brain
fingerprinting technology is based on the principle that the brain is central
to all human acts. In a terrorist act, there may or may not be peripheral
evidence such as fingerprints or DNA, but the brain of the perpetrator is
always there, planning, executing, and recording the crime. The terrorist has
knowledge of organizations, training and plans that an innocent person does not
have. Until the invention of Brain Fingerprinting testing, there was no
scientific way to detect this fundamental difference.
Brain Fingerprinting testing provides an accurate,
economical and timely solution to the central problem in the fight against
terrorism. It is now possible to determine scientifically whether or not a
person has terrorist training and knowledge of terrorist activities.
With the Brain Fingerprinting system, a
significant scientific breakthrough has now become a practical applied
technology. A new era in security and intelligence gathering has begun. Now,
terrorists and those supporting terrorism can be identified quickly and
accurately. No longer should any terrorist be able to evade justice for lack of
evidence. And there is no reason why an innocent individual should be falsely
imprisoned or convicted of terrorist activity. A Brain Fingerprinting test can
determine with an extremely high degree of accuracy those who are involved with
terrorist activity and those who are not.
Criminal justice:
A
critical task of the criminal justice system is to determine who has committed
a crime. The key difference between a guilty party and an innocent suspect is
that the perpetrator of the crime has a record of the crime stored in their
brain, and the innocent suspect does not. Until the invention of Brain
Fingerprinting testing,
there was no scientifically valid way to detect this fundamental difference.
Brain
Fingerprinting testing does not prove guilt or innocence. That is the role of a
judge and jury. This exciting technology gives the judge and jury new,
scientifically valid evidence to help them arrive at their decision. DNA
evidence and fingerprints are available in only about 1% of major crimes. It is
estimated that Brain Fingerprinting testing will apply in approximately 60 to
70% of these major crimes. The impacts on the criminal justice system will be
profound. The potential now exists to significantly improve the speed and
accuracy of the entire system, from investigations to parole hearings. Brain
Fingerprinting testing will be able to dramatically reduce the costs associated
with investigating and prosecuting innocent people and allow law enforcement
professionals to concentrate on suspects who have verifiable, detailed
knowledge of the crimes.
Medical:
‘Brain Fingerprinting’ is
the patented technology that can measure objectively, for the first time, how
memory and cognitive functioning of Alzheimer sufferers are affected by
medications. First generation tests have proven to be more accurate than other
routinely used tests, and could be commercially available in 18-24 months.
The 30
minute test involves wearing a headband with built-in electrodes; technicians
then present words, phrases and images that are both known and unknown to the
patient to determine whether information that should be in the brain is still
there. When presented with familiar information, the brain responds by
producing MERMERs, specific increases in neuron activity. The technician can
use this response to measure how quickly information is disappearing from the
brain and whether the drugs they are taking are slowing down the process.
In advertising, Brain Fingerprinting Laboratories will offer significant advances in measuring campaign and media effectiveness. Most advertising programs today are evaluated subjectively using focus groups. We will be able to offer significantly more advanced, scientific methods to help determine the effectiveness of campaigns and be very cost competitive with current methodologies. This technology will be able to help determine what information is actually retained in memory by individuals. For example, in a branding campaign do people remember the brand, the product, etc. and how do the results vary with demographics? We will also be able to measure the comparative effectiveness of multiple media types.
In the insurance industry, Brain Fingerprinting Laboratories will be able to help reduce the incidence of insurance fraud by determining if an individual has knowledge of fraudulent or criminal acts. The same type of testing can help to determine if an individual has specific knowledge related to computer crimes where there is typically no witness or physical evidence.
Case studies:
The biggest breakthrough,
according to Farwell, was its role in freeing convicted murderer Terry
Harrington, who had been serving a life sentence in Iowa State Penitentiary for
killing a night watchman in 1977. In 2001, Harrington requested a new trial on
several grounds, including conflicting testimony in the original trial.
Farwell was faced with an immediate and obvious problem: 24 years had passed since the trial. Evidence had been presented and transcripts published long ago; the details of the crime had long since come to light. What memories of the crime were left to probe? But Farwell combed the transcripts and came up with obscure details about which to test Harrington. Harrington was granted a new trial when it was discovered that some of the original police reports in the case had been missing at his initial trial. By 2001, however, most of the witnesses against Harrington had either died or had been discredited. Finally, when a key witness heard that Harrington had "passed" his brain fingerprinting test, he recanted his testimony and the prosecution threw up its hands. Harrington was set free.
Farwell was faced with an immediate and obvious problem: 24 years had passed since the trial. Evidence had been presented and transcripts published long ago; the details of the crime had long since come to light. What memories of the crime were left to probe? But Farwell combed the transcripts and came up with obscure details about which to test Harrington. Harrington was granted a new trial when it was discovered that some of the original police reports in the case had been missing at his initial trial. By 2001, however, most of the witnesses against Harrington had either died or had been discredited. Finally, when a key witness heard that Harrington had "passed" his brain fingerprinting test, he recanted his testimony and the prosecution threw up its hands. Harrington was set free.
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Comparison with
other technologies:
Conventional
fingerprinting and DNA match physical evidence from a crime scene with evidence
on the person of the perpetrator. Similarly, Brain Fingerprinting matches
informational evidence from the crime scene with evidence stored in the brain.
Fingerprints and DNA are available in only 1% of crimes. The brain is always
there, planning, executing, and recording the suspect's actions.
Brain
Fingerprinting has nothing to do with lie detection. Rather, it is a scientific
way to determine if someone has committed a specific crime or other act. No
questions are asked and no answers are given during Farwell Brain
Fingerprinting. As with DNA and fingerprints, the results are the same whether
the person has lied or told the truth at any time.
Admissibility of
Brain Fingerprinting in court:
The
admissibility of Brain Fingerprinting in court has not yet been established.
The following well established features of Brain Fingerprinting, however, will
be relevant when the question of admissibility is tested in court. 1) Brain
Fingerprinting has been thoroughly and scientifically tested. 2) The theory and
application of Brain Fingerprinting have been subject to peer review and
publication. 3) The rate of error is extremely low -- virtually nonexistent --
and clear standards governing scientific techniques of operation of the
technology have been established and published. 4) The theory and practice of
Brain Fingerprinting have gained general acceptance in the relevant scientific
community. 5) Brain Fingerprinting is non-invasive and non-testimonial.
Record of 100% Accuracy
At the time of this first field
application, Dr. Farwell's successes in the scientific laboratory with his
invention were already well known. In collaboration with FBI scientist Dr. Drew
Richardson, Dr. Farwell achieved 100% accuracy in using Farwell Brain
Fingerprinting to identify FBI agents based on their brain responses to words
and phrases only an FBI agent would recognize. Tests conducted by Dr. Farwell
for the US Navy in collaboration with Navy LCDR Rene S. Hernandez, Ph.D., also
resulted in 100% accurate results. In research on contract with a US government
intelligence agency, Farwell Brain Fingerprinting achieved 100% accuracy in
proving the presence or absence of a wide variety of evidence stored in the
brains of individuals involved in over 120 cases. Dr. Farwell has published
extensively in the scientific literature and presented his research to many
scientific and technical audiences throughout the world . Farwell Brain
Fingerprinting has been subjected to rigorous peer review under US government
sponsorship, and has been found scientifically viable as well as revolutionary
in its implications.
Conclusion
Brain
Fingerprinting is a revolutionary new scientific technology for solving crimes,
identifying perpetrators, and exonerating innocent suspects, with a record of
100% accuracy in research with US
