PREVIOUS : How to LIE (Part 2)

SITEs : ✐ “Secrets of Body Language” documentary film

«
LYING & the BRAIN
The neocortex, made up of the Frontal & Temporal Lobes, is ‘intellectual’ (not emotional). When lying, a person’s activated frontal lobe is capable of dishonesty, & therefore involved in suppressing the truth, which makes it hard for others to know if you’re being lied to

The limbic system (emotions) compels a person to react subconsciously to situations, so their non-thinking reactions are very honest & can reveal a person’s true feelings, like a poker players ‘tell” when trying to hide a bluff. When it’s activated a person’s anxiety increases because of their deception.

When someone tells the truth, fewer brain cells are activated in the frontal lobes & limbic system, which which have to do with memory encoding & retrieval, needed to check whether the mental imagery used when communicating – is accurate .

🧠 The Nucleus Accumbens is considered the ‘pleasure dome’, known for its roles in pleasure, reward, & addiction. It allows us to perform 2 fundamental human activities – to survive & procreate. Activated neurons in this region release dopamine, a hormone that gives us the feeling of happiness &  satisfaction.

When we exploit these natural needs for selfish ends (over-eating, living in fantasies, chasing money & power….), the pleasure dome shrinks, not releasing dopamine, even when an original desire is fulfilled.

The resulting discontent propels us to keep  looking for ways to fulfill the craving for pleasure – choosing unhealthy activities – which often include manipulation & lying. EXP : Someone who lies, cheats or steals compulsively finds it ‘rewarding’ to deceive others.
But, like with any addiction, the moments of enjoyment are short-lived, inadequate & disappointing, so the person becomes a slave to repetition.

Much research has allowed neuro-psychologists to identify distinct area in brain when a person tells the truth vs when they’re lying, because different parts are used when deliberately telling a falsehood. Neuro-imaging studies in volunteer-participants showed activation patterns when they were asked to lie or tell the truth. Results : the ventro-lateral & dorso-lateral areas of the prefrontal cortex become more lit up when lying .

Also, if we think of the brain as a computer, Gray Matter is the hardware, & White Matter makes up the cables that connect the network & transmitting signals. 

Interestingly, brain scans have revealed that the prefrontal cortexes in frequent liars are built differently from those in a typical brain. A 2005 study showed that in this region they had about 14% less gray cells -which play a role in impulse control. AND the scans showed they had 22% more “white matter” than average, allowing them to be better at manipulate information & words- so they can weave thoughts in ways others probably can’t.

Another study also found that compulsive liars have up to 26% more white matter in their prefrontal cortex, showing they’re better at making connections between various thoughts not based in reality.  EXP : an airplane mechanic might falsely combine ‘Me’ with ‘fighter pilot’.

While the key to success in both personal & professional relationships is the ability to communicate well, it’s not only the words used but the nonverbal cues or “body language” that speak the loudest. They include physical behavior, expressions & mannerisms that ‘speak silently’, often instinctive rather than conscious.

POLYGRAPH : the lie detector machine measures the activity in the limbic system, the anxiety felt by the subject (person being tested).
It can therefore be fooled if they’re usually calm (telling the truth) or are a Pathological Liar without a conscience -because they’re internally congruent (not in conflict) .
The information gathered by the machine is only 50 – 90% reliable, so polygraph test results are inadmissible in court, not being scientifically reliable enough when the stakes are so high.

NEXT : Liars & the BODY (Part 2)