Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 27, 2026

Brain Imaging Investigation of the Neural Correlates of Emotional Autobiographical Recollection
Published on: August 26, 2011
Faking bad: The neural correlates of feigning memory impairment
Elena Kosheleva1, Andrea D Spadoni1, Irina A Strigo2
1Center of Excellence in Stress and Mental Health, San Diego Veterans Affairs Health Care System.
Objective:
The detection of malingering in cognitive performance is a challenge in clinical and legal environments. Neuroimaging may provide an objective method for delineation of malingering.
Method:
A heterogeneous with concern of gender and racial-ethnic identity of 22 healthy volunteers completed the Tombaugh Test of Memory Malingering during an fMRI scan. Subjects were either instructed to perform optimally (not feigning) or to perform "as if they had a mild traumatic brain injury with memory impairment" (feigning).
Results:
A voxel-based multiple regression analysis revealed that during correct responses there was greater activation in the superior and medial prefrontal cortex during the feigning versus the not-feigning responses.
Conclusions:
This finding suggests that falsified memory performance requires greater activation of cognitive control networks to determine a correct selection.
Related Concept Videos
Role of Cerebellum and Prefrontal Cortex in Memory
False Memories
One primary source of false memories is misattribution, where individuals incorrectly associate external information...
Role of Amygdala in Memory
One of the...
Implicit Memories
One key aspect of implicit...
Eyewitness Memory
One such error is memory distortion, which occurs because human memory does not function...
Nonconscious Mimicry

