The Royal College of Psychiatrists:
To our knowledge, this study is the first to show a brain abnormality in people who lie, cheat and manipulate others.
Liars had increased prefrontal white matter volumes and reduced grey/white ratios compared with normal controls.
The effect size was substantial, with group membership explaining 28.2% of the variance in prefrontal volume.
These findings provide the first evidence of a structural brain deficit in liars, they implicate the prefrontal cortex as an important (but not sole) component in the neural circuitry underlying lying and provide an initial neurobiological correlate of a deceitful personality.