U.S. scientists have discovered that when a person gets suspicious, certain part of the brain ‘lights up’, much like a lie detector, Science Daily reported Thursday.

Researcher at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute found that concept of suspicion is linked to two regions in the brain: the amygdala, which controls fear and emotional memories, and parahippocampal gyrus, related to recognition of scenes and declarative memories.

The amygdale is closely related to a person’s baseline level of distrust of other people, and when a person becomes suspicious, his or her parahippocampal gyrus lights up, “acting like an inborn lie detector,” according to Read Montague, the lead researcher.

Scientists conducted an experiment where 76 ‘buyers’ and same number of ‘sellers’ carried out a bargaining game where they haggle over price of hypothetical product. The brain activities of each participant were monitored the whole time.

Researchers learned that the more uncertain a person was, the more active one’s parahippocampal gyrus became.

Montague said the findings may hold key to understanding paranoia and anxiety disorders. He pointed out that many people suffering from anxiety disorders tend to have increased activities in these certain parts of the brain.



From news reports