A study has found that lying takes more brain energy than telling the truth. The study, reported in 2004, was conducted by the Temple University School of Medicine, USA, using functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI.
The participants were divided into two groups. Those in the first group were asked to shoot a toy gun and then lie and say they didn’t do it. Those in the second group watched what happened and then told the truth about it.
The fMRI showed that the liars activated seven areas of the brain in their response (including the frontal part of the brain, the medial inferior and pre-central areas, the hippocampus, middle temporal regions, and the limbic areas).
On the other hand, the truth-tellers activated only four areas of the brain (including the frontal lobe, temporal lobe, and cingulate gyrus).
The conclusion: it took more brain energy to lie than to tell the truth.
Reference: Reuters, “Lying Makes Brain Work Harder,” wired.com, 11/29/04
From: http://www.illustrationsforsermons.com/
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