From truth to deception: a network control theory perspective on brain connectivity and cognitive dynamics

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Network Science
• Control Theory

Background:

• Deception is a complex mental activity influencing brain dynamics.
• Understanding deception's neural basis is crucial for lie detection and cognitive neuroscience.
• Network control theory (NCT) offers a framework to quantify brain state transitions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To apply NCT for the first time to investigate deception's effects on brain functional connectivity (FC).
• To analyze changes in brain network control metrics during truthful versus deceptive behavior.

Main Methods:

• Electroencephalogram (EEG) data collected from 22 participants during a deception-eliciting visual task.
• Functional connectivity (FC) networks constructed using the phase lag index method for truthful and deceptive states.
• Brain modeled as a linear dynamical system; average and modal controllability computed across delta, theta, alpha, beta, and gamma bands.

Main Results:

• Significant differences in brain dynamics observed between truthful and deceptive conditions.
• Average controllability higher during truthfulness in delta and beta bands; higher during deception in the gamma band.
• Modal controllability higher during deception in beta and gamma bands.
• Deception shifts control energy spectrum from lower to higher frequencies compared to truthfulness.

Conclusions:

• Deceptive behavior significantly alters brain functional connectivity patterns.
• NCT provides valuable metrics for quantifying brain dynamics during deception.
• Findings suggest NCT's potential for advancing deception-related research and lie detection applications.