Neuroscientists claim to have found a way to predict whether convicted criminals are likely to re-offend by looking at their brain scans
According to American imaging experts, convicts showing low activity in an area of the brain associated with decision-making and action are more likely to be arrested again.
A team led by Kent Kiehl, a neuroscientist at the Mind Research Network in Albuquerque, studied a group of 96 male prisoners shortly before they were due to be released.
They scanned prisoners brains while they were carrying out computer tasks in which subjects had to make quick decisions and inhibit impulsive reactions.
The researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to focus on activity in a section of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) - a small region in the front of the brain involved in motor control and executive functioning.
They then followed the subjects for four years.
Among the ex-criminals studied, those who had lower ACC activity during the quick-decision tasks were more likely to be arrested again after getting out of prison.
