Neuroscience and the Law

Question 1

What do most states base insanity defense on?

Answer 1

The McNaghten test.

- Defendant did not understand nature and consequences of their actions or that the act was wrong.

Question 2

What is the Irresistible Impulse test?

Answer 2

• Defendant unable to control own behavior

- Used by fewer states.

Question 3

Why is the death penalty not allowed for defendants under 18?

Answer 3

Lack of prefrontal cortex function.

Question 4

Describe the admissibility of Evidence.

Answer 4

Frye
- Has the sceince gained general acceptance within the field?
Daubert (used by most)
- Is the underlying theory testable?
- Has it been subject to peer review?
- What is the known error rate?
- Accepted in the scientific community?

Question 5

Which amendments are potentially violated?

Answer 5

1st (speech), 4th (no search without a warrant), and 5th (self-incrimination)

Question 6

What sort of technology is used in NeuroLaw?

Answer 6

• Polygraph (Life detector)
• Electroencephalogram
• fMRI

Question 7

Explain the Polygraph.

Answer 7

• Lying is stressful
• Measures alteration in heart rate, breathing, blood pressure, skin conductance
• Compare difference between control, relevant, and irrelevant questions
• Can be defeated by countermeasures
• Lack of guilt may nullify results
• Not admissible

Question 8

Explain the EEG.

Answer 8

Brain Fingerprinting

• Electrode over parietal lobe has characteristic response to novelty (P300 wave).
• Not admissible

Question 9

Explain fMRI-Based Lie Detection.

Answer 9

• No Lie MRI
• Cephos
• Claim ~90% accuracy in detecting deception
• Overly sensitive to movement.
• Not admissible

Question 10

What forms of lies are there?

Answer 10

• Spontaneous lies (based on stored semantic and episodic knowledge)
• Memorized lies (less detail because not based on stored knowledge)
• Isolated lies (easier to generate because they do not need to be consistent)
• Scenario-Based lies (cross-check details to fit into coherent story)

Question 11

Describe the structural brain abnomalities

Answer 11

• Violent individuals
• Less frontal lobe activity
• Decreased grey matter in frontal cortex
• Increased activity in amygdala and hippocampus.

Question 12

Describe the Genetics.

Answer 12

Dopamine production or receptors

• No single gene differentiated
• Combinations of genetic variants

Question 13

What does the antisaccade task test?

Answer 13

Inhibitory control of adolescents

Question 14

United States v. Semrau (2010)

Answer 14

First evidentiary hearing in federal court on the admissibility of fMRI lie detection evidence.

Question 15

State of Florida v. Grady Nelson (2010)

Answer 15

First admission of quantitative electroencephalography evidence.

Question 16

Graham v. Florida (2010)

Answer 16

Supreme court ruling explicitly citing brain development research.

Question 17

Stoplight game with MRI.

Answer 17

Bad choices become more rewarding in front of friends.

Question 18

What is recidivism?

Answer 18

Future criminal behavior difficult to predict.

• Detecting remorse.
• Relapse, repeat offender.

Question 19

Describe psychopaths.

Answer 19

• Emotional deficits
• Reduction of guilt
• 0.6-1% of population
• PCL-R checklist
• MAO-A genotype
• Impairments in the amygdala, OFC, vmPFC

Question 20

What is the PCL-R?

Answer 20

Psychopathy Checklist-Revised.

• 20-item symptom rating scale
• measures degree of psychopathy
• Score > 30 qualifies psychopathy
• 6.8% increased risk for each 1-point increase.

Question 21

What factors does the PCL-R look at?

Answer 21

1. Personality (Aggressive Narcissism)
   - Superficial charm, manipulative, lack of guilt
2. Case history (Socially deviant lifestyle)
   - Irresponsible, Poor control, parasitic lifestyle

Question 22

What does MAO-A do?

Answer 22

Inactivates serotonin (which affects mood). 
- Lower MAOA activity makes subject more vulnerable to childhood maltreatment.

Question 23

Individuals with antisocial or criminal behavior often are have impaired:

Answer 23

Planning, decision making, self-monitoring, and judgement.

Question 24

What is the compatibility issue with law and science?

Answer 24

Law deals with abstract notion of justice, while science attempts to describe real phenomena.

Question 25

What is culpability?

Answer 25

The responsibility for a fault or wrong; blame.

Question 26

Which 3 factors did James Fallon find in the PET scan that lead to violent offenders?

Answer 26

Violent genes, damage to brain, traumatic life experiences.

- From an attempt to assess his family’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

Question 27

Which 3 factors did James Fallon find in the PET scan that lead to violent offenders?

Answer 27

Violent genes, damage to brain, traumatic life experiences.

- From an attempt to assess his family’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.