ABSTRACT

Brain Fingerprinting was invented by Lawrence Farwell. It is a forensic science technique that determines whether specific information is stored in a person's brain by measuring electrical brainwave responses to words, pictures or phrases, which are presented on a computer screen. The theory is that the brain processes known, relevant information differently from the way it processes unknown or irrelevant information. The brains processing of known information, for example, the details of a crime stored in the brain, is revealed by a specific pattern in the EEG (electroencephalogram). Farwell discovered the MERMER ("Memory and Encoding Related Multifaceted Electroencephalographic Response"), which includes the P300 along with some additional features and provides a higher level of accuracy. 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.