Pinocchio Was Right: If You Lie, Your Nose Changes

Want to know if people are lying to you? Touching their noses might give you a clue.

According to researchers at the University of Granada, when people lie, they suffer a “Pinocchio effect,” an increase in the temperature around the nose and in the orbital muscle in the inner corner of the eye. In addition, when you perform a considerable mental effort, your face temperature drops, and when you have an anxiety attack, your face temperature goes up.

Using thermographic cameras that measure temperature changes, these Spanish scientists have been studying how parts of the body heat up or cool during various psychological shifts. They have discovered that when you make a concerted mental effort (performing difficult tasks, being interrogated on a specific event or lying), face temperature adjustments occur.

When we lie about our feelings, the temperature around our nose increases and a brain element called the insula is activated. The insula is a component of the brain reward system that helps regulate body temperature. But it only significantly restricts temperature increases when we experience genuine feelings (not lies). Therefore, there is a strong negative correlation between insula activity and temperature increase. When you tell the truth, your insula is more active and you experience less of a temperature boost.