Neuroimaging Unveils Why People Are Prone to Believing Lies

Recent advancements in neuroimaging have provided new insights into the neural mechanisms behind why individuals tend to believe lies. A study led by Yingjie Liu from North China University of Science and Technology investigated how people process social information and evaluate honesty, both from friends and strangers. The research involved 66 healthy volunteers who engaged in communication tasks via computer screens while undergoing brain scans.

In the experiments, participants received information that either conferred benefits (a "gain") or posed negative consequences (a "loss") for the pair. The study aimed to understand how these contexts influence decision-making and deception. Findings revealed that participants were more inclined to believe lies in "gain" scenarios—situations where deception appeared to offer potential rewards. This increased likelihood was associated with activity in brain regions implicated in risk assessment, reward processing, and intention understanding.

A key discovery was the difference in brain activity when the deceiver was considered a friend versus a stranger. Shared brain activity between friends varied based on the context: reward-related regions showed increased synchrony during "gain" conditions, while risk evaluation areas became more active during "loss" scenarios. The degree of neural synchrony could even predict whether a person would be successfully deceived, highlighting the role of social bonds in the deception process.

These results suggest that when potential gains are involved, individuals may process social information differently, especially when interacting with friends. The neural mechanisms involved could make people less accurate in evaluating the truth when they perceive potential benefits, emphasizing the influence of social relationships on honesty perception.

The study, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, underscores the importance of understanding brain activity related to social and decision-making processes. It also opens avenues for further research into how social bonds modulate honesty and deception, with potential implications for fields such as psychology, neuroscience, and behavioral economics.

For more detailed information, visit the original study: DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2129-24.2025.