Psychophysiological indexes in the detection of deception: A systematic review

Robust evidence on deception detection highlights that humans perform at chance level, especially when a truth-default cognitive threshold is crossed by the deceiver. This systematic review examined whether identification of deceptive stimuli elicits specific physiological responses in the detectors of deception. Following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, five databases were searched for human studies that evaluate physiological reactivity to deceptive stimuli, along with behavioural responses. Eleven studies (thirteen experiments) were included in a qualitative synthesis. Results show that deception detection is associated with higher activity in the prefrontal cortex and temporal lobe, with a specific involvement of the temporoparietal junction, alongside the cerebellum and cingulate cortex. Specific changes in other physiological activities (i.e., heart rate, skin temperature, motor excitability) also seem to be differently associated with the detection of deception. This review suggests that detecting deception should be considered a complex decision-making process and indicates that specific physiological activity is present across different types of deceptive stimuli. Implications are promising for further developments in security and forensic sciences.