Are there alternatives to traditional polygraph procedures?

The most commonly used method for detecting deception is based on the assumption that lies given by a person in response to critical questions posed during a polygraph examination will elicit an identifiable pattern of autonomic reactivity. Critics of this method argue that a polygraph examination cannot detect lying because lying does not produce a distinct physiological response. They assert that the possession of information only the guilty person would be expected to have can be revealed in a polygraph examination, however, by the pattern of autonomic arousal presentation of this information elicits in a person who possesses it. In this article, the position is taken that the dependence of both procedures on autonomic measures diminishes their effectiveness and inhibits the development of alternatives. A few studies are reviewed that suggest that measures of brain electrical activity can be used to infer the possession of information in persons attempting to conceal it.