What happens in the brain when we lie?

Amber Minogue (0:04)

What happens in the brain when we lie?

Thanks for asking.

Everyone has lied at least once in their life, but did you know that we lie at least once a day? This surprising conclusion comes from an American study published in 1996 The reason behind our lies are quite intriguing. Often we lie to protect the people we care about. This is known as a white lie. But that's not the whole story. According to neuropsychologist and researcher Sylvie Chokron, lying is an incredibly complex cognitive process. When we lie, we activate multiple brain regions, including those responsible for language, creativity, memory and self-control.

Does this mean you have to be pretty clever to be a good liar?

Sylvie Chokron thinks so. She explains that all cognitive processes involved in lying engage numerous brain regions. In essence, lying is an extremely intelligent task. It involves virtually all of your cognitive abilities, from language and situational understanding to inventiveness, self-control and attention. What's more, the best liars use extremely sophisticated techniques. For instance, in his book, Lying, Liars and Lies, a Psychological Analysis, American psychology professor Jeff Beattie explains that skilled liars use our intuition against us. When trying to detect lies, we look for telltale clues, such as changes in attitude or behaviour. Expert liars disrupt this by pretending to be angry, lost or sad, thereby destabilising the other person. And which parts of the brain are affected when we lie? A 2017 study by a team of Russian researchers found that the prefrontal cortex is involved. This brain region is activated when we engage in complex cognitive processes. It plays a crucial role in language, memory and reasoning, all essential faculties for crafting a convincing lie. Interestingly, pathological liars have, on average, 20% more neural connections, white matter, and 15% fewer neurons, grey matter. But why do we lie? Humans aren't the only ones who lie. Chokron explains that some animals can camouflage themselves, change colour, or pretend to do one thing while planning another. This behaviour might be so well developed in advanced beings like us because lying also ensures our survival. Lying could be a biological protection measure, essential for safeguarding ourselves and our offspring, making it a crucial social behaviour for the survival of our species. There you have it. Now you know what happens in the brain when we lie. In under three minutes, we answer your questions and help you understand the true meaning behind the trends, concepts and acronyms that are making headlines. Listen along and you really will know for sure.

Bababam.