Using fMRI to decode true thoughts independent of intention to conceal

• Published in: NeuroImage (Orlando, Fla.) Vol. 99; pp. 80 - 92
• Main Authors: Yang, Zhi, Huang, Zirui, Gonzalez-Castillo, Javier, Dai, Rui, Northoff, Georg, Bandettini, Peter
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier Inc 01.10.2014; Elsevier; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Accuracy; Adult; Biological and medical sciences; Brain - physiology; Brain research; Cerebral Cortex - physiology; Deception; Dishonesty; Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex; Experiments; Female; fMRI; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; Intention; Lie Detection - psychology; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods; Male; Medical imaging; Multivariate pattern analysis; Photic Stimulation; Reproducibility of Results; Searchlight; Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs; Young Adult; Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex; fMRI; Searchlight; Multivariate pattern analysis; Deception; Central nervous system; Prefrontal cortex; Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging; Encephalon; Functional imaging
• ISSN: 1053-8119; 1095-9572; 1095-9572
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.05.034

Multi-variate pattern analysis (MVPA) applied to BOLD-fMRI has proven successful at decoding complicated fMRI signal patterns associated with a variety of cognitive processes. One cognitive process, not yet investigated, is the mental representation of “Yes/No” thoughts that precede the actual overt response to a binary “Yes/No” question. In this study, we focus on examining: (1) whether spatial patterns of the hemodynamic response carry sufficient information to allow reliable decoding of “Yes/No” thoughts; and (2) whether decoding of “Yes/No” thoughts is independent of the intention to respond honestly or dishonestly. To achieve this goal, we conducted two separate experiments. Experiment 1, collected on a 3T scanner, examined the whole brain to identify regions that carry sufficient information to permit significantly above-chance prediction of “Yes/No” thoughts at the group level. In Experiment 2, collected on a 7T scanner, we focused on the regions identified in Experiment 1 to examine the capability of achieving high decoding accuracy at the single subject level. A set of regions – namely right superior temporal gyrus, left supra-marginal gyrus, and left middle frontal gyrus – exhibited high decoding power. Decoding accuracy for these regions increased with trial averaging. When 18 trials were averaged, the median accuracies were 82.5%, 77.5%, and 79.5%, respectively. When trials were separated according to deceptive intentions (set via experimental cues), and classifiers were trained on honest trials, but tested on trials where subjects were asked to deceive, the median accuracies of these regions still reached 66%, 75%, and 78.5%. These results provide evidence that concealed “Yes/No” thoughts are encoded in the BOLD signal, retaining some level of independence from the subject’s intentions to answer honestly or dishonestly. These findings also suggest the theoretical possibility for more efficient brain-computer interfaces where subjects only need to think their answers to communicate. •True thoughts precede the overt responses to questions and are decoded from fMRI.•The left middle frontal gyrus showed 76–93% accuracy for true “Yes/No” decoding.•The decoding accuracy of this region increases with trial averaging.•Brain activity patterns encoding true thoughts are similar in different intentions.