title: Predicting the knowledge-recklessness distinction in the human brain.
abstract: Criminal convictions require proof that a prohibited act was performed in a statutorily specified mental state. Different legal consequences, including greater punishments, are mandated for those who act in a state of knowledge, compared with a state of recklessness. Existing research, however, suggests people have trouble classifying defendants as knowing, rather than reckless, even when instructed on the relevant legal criteria. We used a machine-learning technique on brain imaging data to predict, with high accuracy, which mental state our participants were in. This predictive ability depended on both the magnitude of the risks and the amount of information about those risks possessed by the participants. Our results provide neural evidence of a detectable difference in the mental state of knowledge in contrast to recklessness and suggest, as a proof of principle, the possibility of inferring from brain data in which legally relevant category a person belongs. Some potential legal implications of this result are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, United Kingdom.|Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute, Virginia Tech, Roanoke, VA 24016.
authors.forename: Iris
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Vilares
authors.affiliation: Department of Behavioral Science, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, KY 40506.
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Wesley
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210.
authors.forename: Woo-Young
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Ahn
authors.affiliation: Institute of Law, Psychiatry and Public Policy, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22903.
authors.forename: Richard J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Bonnie
authors.affiliation: Second Judicial District (Denver), State of Colorado, Denver, CO 80202.
authors.forename: Morris
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hoffman
authors.affiliation: Vanderbilt Law School, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37203.|Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37203.
authors.forename: Owen D
authors.initials: OD
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.affiliation: University of Pennsylvania Law School, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104.
authors.forename: Stephen J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Morse
authors.affiliation: Yale Law School, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511 read@vtc.vt.edu gideon.yaffe@yale.edu.
authors.forename: Gideon
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yaffe
authors.affiliation: Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute, Virginia Tech, Roanoke, VA 24016.
authors.forename: Terry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lohrenz
authors.affiliation: Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, United Kingdom; read@vtc.vt.edu gideon.yaffe@yale.edu.|Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute, Virginia Tech, Roanoke, VA 24016.
authors.forename: P Read
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Montague
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D019540:Area Under Curve; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D019359:Knowledge; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008606:Mental Processes; D011581:Psychological Tests; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012919:Social Behavior; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: elastic-net model; knowledge; mental states; neurolaw; recklessness