Limitations of Brain Imaging in Forensic Psychiatry

Over the several decades of its existence, brain imag-ing has moved from the laboratory to the bedside. Brain imaging now plays a routine role in the diag-nosis of many central nervous system disorders. However, the appeal of a “snapshot ” of the brain extends beyond medicine. Brain imaging, now avail-able in color, with its simplicity and vividness, has sometimes proven irresistible to defense attorneys seeking to exonerate their clients of responsibility for their crimes. Putting aside the question of what brain imaging means for a justice system predicated on the assumption of free will, misrepresentation of brain imaging may mislead a judge and jury. The Technology of the Machines Brain imaging, with its many technological vari