Brain Scans may Help Nab Benefit Cheats

Brain scans may help nab benefit cheats, a new study has suggested

The report suggested that imaging and other aspects of neuroscience could also be used in future to assess the public risk posed by convicted criminals.

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A brain imaging scan spots biochemical changes in brains of people at risk for Alzheimer's disease, finds research published in Neurology.

But the Royal Society said any question of using brain test results, as evidence in court should be approached with 'great caution'.

The study concludes that brain scans cannot identify would-be murderers, and there is no gene that will inevitably turn a person into a violent psychopath.

However, the report does accept that neuroimaging and genetics may one day contribute to risk assessments in sentencing and probation decisions.

Brain Scan Of Sleeping Babies Can Predict Autism Risk
Brain scans of sleeping babies can predict autism risk, according to scientists at the Weizmann Institute of Science, Carnegie Mellon University and the University of California, San Diego.

Working group chairman Professor Nicholas Mackintosh, from Cambridge University, said that scientists were already close to being able to tell if a person is really feeling pain or just faking. Brain scans may soon reveal the neural pathways that provide a 'signature' of subjective pain.

Such a test would open the door to identifying benefit cheats or fraudulent personal injury claims.

Brain Scan to Diagnose Alzheimer's
A PET scan that can identify early signs of dementia in under 60 minutes has been developed by scientists. The PET scan measures the activity in the brain.

A team at Oxford University led by Professor Irene Tracey believes this could be achievable within 10 years.

"She envisages that it will be possible to distinguish between someone who is genuinely in pain and someone who is malingering. It could provide evidence that tilts the balance of probability in such cases," Prof Mackintosh said.

Source-ANI