Twoblock,

I don't think there is any controversy over whether such emotional states as anger, fear, anxiety, or embarassment can produce reactions measurable by the polygraph (not just cardio reactions, but also breathing and skin conductance). They certainly can.

The problem, as Professor John J. Furedy has observed, is that the polygraph is "virtually useless for differentiating the anxious-but-innocent person from the anxious-and-guilty one."