Method and apparatus for truth detection

A method of detecting whether or not someone is telling the truth, comprising:

• a) asking questions of the individual;
• b) noting the individual's answers;
• c) asking the individual, in addition to the answers to the questions, to report continuously in a stream-of-consciousness fashion, on their ongoing thought processes;
• d) measuring electrical brain activity during said thought processes;
• and
• e) comparing the electrical brain activity to standards for activity when a subject is known to be accurately reporting on his/her spontaneous mental activity and for activity when an individual is known to be speaking something that is at variance with his ongoing mental activity.

A method of detecting information stored in a brain of a subject comprising:

• presenting to said subject in oddball series stimuli including:
• Probe stimuli relevant to a specific situation under investigation for effecting in said subject an event related brain potential when said subject has knowledge thereof:
• Irrelevant stimuli not relevant to said situation;
• and
• Target stimuli identified to said subject as being noteworthy, and in response to which said subject is instructed to perform a task, said Target stimuli like said Probe stimuli being relevant to said situation under investigation;
• detecting an electrical brain response from said subject in response to each of said stimuli;
• analyzing said electrical brain responses for uncovering said event related brain potential therein;
• and
• comparing said electrical brain responses from said Probe stimuli with said Target stimuli for determining whether said subject recognizes said Probe stimuli, and comparing said Probe stimuli with said Irrelevant stimuli for determining whether said subject does not recognize said Probe stimuli.

A method of detecting information stored in a brain of a subject comprising:

• presenting to said subject stimuli including:
• rare, Target stimuli identified to said subject as being noteworthy, and in response to which said subject is instructed to perform a task;
• and
• frequent, non-Target stimuli including Probe stimuli preselected as being possibly relevant to a situation under investigation, and Irrelevant stimuli not relevant to said situation;
• detecting an electrical brain response from said subject in response to each of said stimuli;
• analyzing said electrical brain responses for uncovering any event related brain potentials;
• and
• comparing said electrical brain responses for each of said non-Target stimuli with other non-Target stimuli and with said Target stimuli for uncovering an event related brain potential due to said non-Target stimuli which is similar to an event related brain potential for said Target stimuli and in contrast to non-Target stimuli not eliciting an event related brain potential.

A headband for measurement of electrical brain activity from a scalp of a subject, said scalp having frontal, central, parietal, left mastoid, and right mastoid locations, said headband comprising:

• a flexible band having first and second opposite ends and a center portion therebetween, and being sized to surround said scalp for joining together said first and second ends;
• a flexible overflap having first and second opposite ends, with said overflap first end being integrally joined to said band center portion, and being sized to extend over said scalp frontal, central, and parietal locations for joining together said overflap second end to said band first and second ends;
• first means for releasably joining together said band first and second ends;
• second means for releasably joining together said overflap second end with said joined together band first and second ends;
• a plurality of spaced-apart female electrode sites fixedly joined to said band and to said overflap for alignment with said scalp frontal, central, parietal, left mastoid, and right mastoid locations upon placement of said headband on said subject scalp;
• and
• a plurality of electrode wires joined to respective ones of said electrode sites.