So-Called Truth Serum Gets People Talking... But Not Necessarily About The Truth
Truth serums are still today works of fiction, not science. Sodium amytal, scopolamine, even alcohol are all just mind-altering drugs that affect how the brain functions with no scientific evidence to prove that either one is an actual truth-spewing liquor.
And Sodium thiopental, commonly referred to as sodium pentothal, is no different, according to SciShow, a YouTube science vlog. The program refers to the yellow powder as a way of getting people to talk, but not necessarily about the truth.
"The problem with sodium thiopental is that by reducing people's ability to think complexly, it just makes them talk... a lot... about anything," show host Hank Green said in the video.
Sodium pentothal is a thiobarbiturate, a hypnotic and intravenous drug that slows down brain activity and relaxes people.
The substance was first produced in 1934 by scientists Ernest H. Volwiler and Donalee L. Tabern, who were trying to invent a new painkiller. The drug was found during and after World War II to help shell-shocked fighters open up about their experiences and eventually used to force criminals to admit to their crimes.
But the idea that all admissions of guilt are truthful is still up for debate. John MacDonald, a forensic psychiatrist in the 1950s said that serums like sodium pentothal forced many to confess to whatever they felt they were expected to admit to, even crimes they did not commit, according to SciShow.
"The risk of self-incrimination is a potent force motivating the suspect against revealing information which might lead to his conviction on a criminal charge," MacDonald wrote in a paper published by the Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology. "It is unlikely that he will reveal information under drugs unless he is prepared to do so. The test is by no means reliable, and when used indiscriminately, it may cloud rather than clarify criminal investigation."