Right now we are discussing the trustworthiness of the fMRI testing to verify if memories are valid or not. Sean made a good point about similar memories being lighted up in the brain, even if the person didn't actually commit the crime. I don't really trust current lie detector tests, either, because if the person is nervous or stressed, they might show the same physical symptoms as a liar even if they are innocent.
I also wonder if innocent people could create memories that they committed the crime, due to suggestibility from those questioning them. Or if the reverse is possible-people who have committed a crime could repress the memory or create an altered version, convincing themselves that they are innocent.
While I know that some abuse victims repress their traumatic memories, accounts of people who believe they have been sexually abused as children but didn't notice it until adulthood seem kind of sketchy to me. I'm sure that a lot of false abuse victims actually believe that they have been victimized due to imagined memories, but hasn't anyone considered the possibility that maybe some of these false abuse victims are simply crying wolf?
It's a good thing we have forensic evidence, because human memory is unreliable.
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