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Wajnerman-Paz A, Aboitiz F, Álamos F, Ramos Vergara P. A healthcare approach to mental integrity. JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ETHICS 2024:jme-2023-109682. [PMID: 38802142 DOI: 10.1136/jme-2023-109682] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2023] [Accepted: 04/17/2024] [Indexed: 05/29/2024]
Abstract
The current human rights framework can shield people from many of the risks associated with neurotechnological applications. However, it has been argued that we need either to articulate new rights or reconceptualise existing ones in order to prevent some of these risks. In this paper, we would like to address the recent discussion about whether current reconceptualisations of the right to mental integrity identify an ethical dimension that is not covered by existing moral and/or legal rights. The main challenge of these proposals is that they make mental integrity indistinguishable from autonomy. They define mental integrity in terms of the control we can have over our mental states, which seems to be part of the authenticity condition for autonomous action. Based on a fairly comprehensive notion of mental health (ie, a notion that is not limited to the mere absence of illness), we propose an alternative view according to which mental integrity can be characterised both as a positive right to (medical and non-medical) interventions that restore and sustain mental and neural function, and promote its development and a negative right protecting people from interventions that threaten or undermine these functions or their development. We will argue that this notion is dissociated from cognitive control and therefore can be adequately distinguished from autonomy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abel Wajnerman-Paz
- Instituto de Éticas Aplicadas, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Francisco Aboitiz
- Centro Interdisciplinario de Neurociencia, Departamento de Psiquiatría, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Florencia Álamos
- Centro de Bioética, Facultad de Medicina, Centro Interdisciplinario de Neurociencia, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Paulina Ramos Vergara
- Centro de Bioética, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
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Rainey S. An Anticipatory Approach to Ethico-Legal Implications of Future Neurotechnology. SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING ETHICS 2024; 30:18. [PMID: 38748291 PMCID: PMC11096192 DOI: 10.1007/s11948-024-00482-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2023] [Accepted: 04/20/2024] [Indexed: 05/18/2024]
Abstract
This paper provides a justificatory rationale for recommending the inclusion of imagined future use cases in neurotechnology development processes, specifically for legal and policy ends. Including detailed imaginative engagement with future applications of neurotechnology can serve to connect ethical, legal, and policy issues potentially arising from the translation of brain stimulation research to the public consumer domain. Futurist scholars have for some time recommended approaches that merge creative arts with scientific development in order to theorise possible futures toward which current trends in technology development might be steered. Taking a creative, imaginative approach like this in the neurotechnology context can help move development processes beyond considerations of device functioning, safety, and compliance with existing regulation, and into an active engagement with potential future dynamics brought about by the emergence of the neurotechnology itself. Imagined scenarios can engage with potential consumer uses of devices that might come to challenge legal or policy contexts. An anticipatory, creative approach can imagine what such uses might consist in, and what they might imply. Justifying this approach also prompts a co-responsibility perspective for policymaking in technology contexts. Overall, this furnishes a mode of neurotechnology's emergence that can avoid crises of confidence in terms of ethico-legal issues, and promote policy responses balanced between knowledge, values, protected innovation potential, and regulatory safeguards.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen Rainey
- Department of Values, Technology and Innovation (VTI), Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands.
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Hurley ME, Sonig A, Herrington J, Storch EA, Lázaro-Muñoz G, Blumenthal-Barby J, Kostick-Quenet K. Ethical considerations for integrating multimodal computer perception and neurotechnology. Front Hum Neurosci 2024; 18:1332451. [PMID: 38435745 PMCID: PMC10904467 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2024.1332451] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2023] [Accepted: 01/30/2024] [Indexed: 03/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Background Artificial intelligence (AI)-based computer perception technologies (e.g., digital phenotyping and affective computing) promise to transform clinical approaches to personalized care in psychiatry and beyond by offering more objective measures of emotional states and behavior, enabling precision treatment, diagnosis, and symptom monitoring. At the same time, passive and continuous nature by which they often collect data from patients in non-clinical settings raises ethical issues related to privacy and self-determination. Little is known about how such concerns may be exacerbated by the integration of neural data, as parallel advances in computer perception, AI, and neurotechnology enable new insights into subjective states. Here, we present findings from a multi-site NCATS-funded study of ethical considerations for translating computer perception into clinical care and contextualize them within the neuroethics and neurorights literatures. Methods We conducted qualitative interviews with patients (n = 20), caregivers (n = 20), clinicians (n = 12), developers (n = 12), and clinician developers (n = 2) regarding their perspective toward using PC in clinical care. Transcripts were analyzed in MAXQDA using Thematic Content Analysis. Results Stakeholder groups voiced concerns related to (1) perceived invasiveness of passive and continuous data collection in private settings; (2) data protection and security and the potential for negative downstream/future impacts on patients of unintended disclosure; and (3) ethical issues related to patients' limited versus hyper awareness of passive and continuous data collection and monitoring. Clinicians and developers highlighted that these concerns may be exacerbated by the integration of neural data with other computer perception data. Discussion Our findings suggest that the integration of neurotechnologies with existing computer perception technologies raises novel concerns around dignity-related and other harms (e.g., stigma, discrimination) that stem from data security threats and the growing potential for reidentification of sensitive data. Further, our findings suggest that patients' awareness and preoccupation with feeling monitored via computer sensors ranges from hypo- to hyper-awareness, with either extreme accompanied by ethical concerns (consent vs. anxiety and preoccupation). These results highlight the need for systematic research into how best to implement these technologies into clinical care in ways that reduce disruption, maximize patient benefits, and mitigate long-term risks associated with the passive collection of sensitive emotional, behavioral and neural data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meghan E. Hurley
- Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Anika Sonig
- Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States
| | - John Herrington
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Eric A. Storch
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Gabriel Lázaro-Muñoz
- Center for Bioethics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
| | | | - Kristin Kostick-Quenet
- Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States
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Groden M, Moessinger HM, Schaffran B, DeFelipe J, Benavides-Piccione R, Cuntz H, Jedlicka P. A biologically inspired repair mechanism for neuronal reconstructions with a focus on human dendrites. PLoS Comput Biol 2024; 20:e1011267. [PMID: 38394339 PMCID: PMC10917450 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1011267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2023] [Revised: 03/06/2024] [Accepted: 02/02/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Investigating and modelling the functionality of human neurons remains challenging due to the technical limitations, resulting in scarce and incomplete 3D anatomical reconstructions. Here we used a morphological modelling approach based on optimal wiring to repair the parts of a dendritic morphology that were lost due to incomplete tissue samples. In Drosophila, where dendritic regrowth has been studied experimentally using laser ablation, we found that modelling the regrowth reproduced a bimodal distribution between regeneration of cut branches and invasion by neighbouring branches. Interestingly, our repair model followed growth rules similar to those for the generation of a new dendritic tree. To generalise the repair algorithm from Drosophila to mammalian neurons, we artificially sectioned reconstructed dendrites from mouse and human hippocampal pyramidal cell morphologies, and showed that the regrown dendrites were morphologically similar to the original ones. Furthermore, we were able to restore their electrophysiological functionality, as evidenced by the recovery of their firing behaviour. Importantly, we show that such repairs also apply to other neuron types including hippocampal granule cells and cerebellar Purkinje cells. We then extrapolated the repair to incomplete human CA1 pyramidal neurons, where the anatomical boundaries of the particular brain areas innervated by the neurons in question were known. Interestingly, the repair of incomplete human dendrites helped to simulate the recently observed increased synaptic thresholds for dendritic NMDA spikes in human versus mouse dendrites. To make the repair tool available to the neuroscience community, we have developed an intuitive and simple graphical user interface (GUI), which is available in the TREES toolbox (www.treestoolbox.org).
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Affiliation(s)
- Moritz Groden
- 3R Computer-Based Modelling, Faculty of Medicine, ICAR3R, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Hannah M. Moessinger
- Ernst Strüngmann Institute (ESI) for Neuroscience in cooperation with the Max Planck Society, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Barbara Schaffran
- Ernst Strüngmann Institute (ESI) for Neuroscience in cooperation with the Max Planck Society, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Bonn, Germany
| | - Javier DeFelipe
- Laboratorio Cajal de Circuitos Corticales (CTB), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain
- Instituto Cajal (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Ruth Benavides-Piccione
- Laboratorio Cajal de Circuitos Corticales (CTB), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain
- Instituto Cajal (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Hermann Cuntz
- 3R Computer-Based Modelling, Faculty of Medicine, ICAR3R, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
- Ernst Strüngmann Institute (ESI) for Neuroscience in cooperation with the Max Planck Society, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Peter Jedlicka
- 3R Computer-Based Modelling, Faculty of Medicine, ICAR3R, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
- Institute of Clinical Neuroanatomy, Neuroscience Center, Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
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Ochang P, Eke D, Stahl BC. Towards an understanding of global brain data governance: ethical positions that underpin global brain data governance discourse. Front Big Data 2023; 6:1240660. [PMID: 38025947 PMCID: PMC10665841 DOI: 10.3389/fdata.2023.1240660] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2023] [Accepted: 10/10/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction The study of the brain continues to generate substantial volumes of data, commonly referred to as "big brain data," which serves various purposes such as the treatment of brain-related diseases, the development of neurotechnological devices, and the training of algorithms. This big brain data, generated in different jurisdictions, is subject to distinct ethical and legal principles, giving rise to various ethical and legal concerns during collaborative efforts. Understanding these ethical and legal principles and concerns is crucial, as it catalyzes the development of a global governance framework, currently lacking in this field. While prior research has advocated for a contextual examination of brain data governance, such studies have been limited. Additionally, numerous challenges, issues, and concerns surround the development of a contextually informed brain data governance framework. Therefore, this study aims to bridge these gaps by exploring the ethical foundations that underlie contextual stakeholder discussions on brain data governance. Method In this study we conducted a secondary analysis of interviews with 21 neuroscientists drafted from the International Brain Initiative (IBI), LATBrain Initiative and the Society of Neuroscientists of Africa (SONA) who are involved in various brain projects globally and employing ethical theories. Ethical theories provide the philosophical frameworks and principles that inform the development and implementation of data governance policies and practices. Results The results of the study revealed various contextual ethical positions that underscore the ethical perspectives of neuroscientists engaged in brain data research globally. Discussion This research highlights the multitude of challenges and deliberations inherent in the pursuit of a globally informed framework for governing brain data. Furthermore, it sheds light on several critical considerations that require thorough examination in advancing global brain data governance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paschal Ochang
- Centre for Computing and Social Responsibility, De Montfort University, Leicester, United Kingdom
| | - Damian Eke
- Centre for Computing and Social Responsibility, De Montfort University, Leicester, United Kingdom
| | - Bernd Carsten Stahl
- Centre for Computing and Social Responsibility, De Montfort University, Leicester, United Kingdom
- School of Computer Science, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom
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6
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Ishida S, Nishitsutsumi Y, Kashioka H, Taguchi T, Shineha R. A comparative review on neuroethical issues in neuroscientific and neuroethical journals. Front Neurosci 2023; 17:1160611. [PMID: 37781239 PMCID: PMC10536163 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1160611] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2023] [Accepted: 08/28/2023] [Indexed: 10/03/2023] Open
Abstract
This study is a pilot literature review that compares the interest of neuroethicists and neuroscientists. It aims to determine whether there is a significant gap between the neuroethical issues addressed in philosophical neuroethics journals and neuroscience journals. We retrieved 614 articles from two specialist neuroethics journals (Neuroethics and AJOB Neuroscience) and 82 neuroethics-focused articles from three specialist neuroscience journals (Neuron, Nature Neuroscience, and Nature Reviews Neuroscience). We classified these articles in light of the neuroethical issue in question before we compared the neuroethical issues addressed in philosophical neuroethics with those addressed by neuroscientists. A notable result is a parallelism between them as a general tendency. Neuroscientific articles cover most neuroethical issues discussed by philosophical ethicists and vice versa. Subsequently, there are notable discrepancies between the two bodies of neuroethics literature. For instance, theoretical questions, such as the ethics of moral enhancement and the philosophical implications of neuroscientific findings on our conception of personhood, are more intensely discussed in philosophical-neuroethical articles. Conversely, neuroscientific articles tend to emphasize practical questions, such as how to successfully integrate ethical perspectives into scientific research projects and justifiable practices of animal-involving neuroscientific research. These observations will help us settle the common starting point of the attempt at "ethics integration" in emerging neuroscience, contributing to better governance design and neuroethical practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shu Ishida
- Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
| | - Yu Nishitsutsumi
- Center for Information and Neural Networks, National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, Suita, Japan
| | - Hideki Kashioka
- Center for Information and Neural Networks, National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, Suita, Japan
| | - Takahisa Taguchi
- Center for Information and Neural Networks, National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, Suita, Japan
| | - Ryuma Shineha
- Research Center on Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues, Osaka University, Suita, Japan
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Hamzah N, Malim NHAH, Abdullah JM, Sumari P, Mokhtar AM, Rosli SNS, Ibrahim SAS, Idris Z. Big Brain Data Initiatives in Universiti Sains Malaysia: Data Stewardship to Data Repository and Data Sharing. Neuroinformatics 2023; 21:589-600. [PMID: 37344699 DOI: 10.1007/s12021-023-09637-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/30/2023] [Indexed: 06/23/2023]
Abstract
The sharing of open-access neuroimaging data has increased significantly during the last few years. Sharing neuroimaging data is crucial to accelerating scientific advancement, particularly in the field of neuroscience. A number of big initiatives that will increase the amount of available neuroimaging data are currently in development. The Big Brain Data Initiative project was started by Universiti Sains Malaysia as the first neuroimaging data repository platform in Malaysia for the purpose of data sharing. In order to ensure that the neuroimaging data in this project is accessible, usable, and secure, as well as to offer users high-quality data that can be consistently accessed, we first came up with good data stewardship practices. Then, we developed MyneuroDB, an online repository database system for data sharing purposes. Here, we describe the Big Brain Data Initiative and MyneuroDB, a data repository that provides the ability to openly share neuroimaging data, currently including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), electroencephalography (EEG), and magnetoencephalography (MEG), following the FAIR principles for data sharing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nurfaten Hamzah
- Department of Neurosciences, School of Medical Sciences, Health Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 16150 Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia
- Brain and Behaviour Cluster, School of Medical Sciences, Health Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 16150 Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia
| | | | - Jafri Malin Abdullah
- Department of Neurosciences, School of Medical Sciences, Health Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 16150 Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia
- Brain and Behaviour Cluster, School of Medical Sciences, Health Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 16150 Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia
- Department of Neurosciences & Brain Behaviour Cluster, Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia, Health Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 16150 Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia
| | - Putra Sumari
- School of Computer Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800, Gelugor, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
| | - Ariffin Marzuki Mokhtar
- Hospital Management System Unit, Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia, Health Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 16150 Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia
| | - Siti Nur Syamila Rosli
- Department of Neurosciences, School of Medical Sciences, Health Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 16150 Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia
| | | | - Zamzuri Idris
- Department of Neurosciences, School of Medical Sciences, Health Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 16150 Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia
- Brain and Behaviour Cluster, School of Medical Sciences, Health Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 16150 Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia
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8
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Ligthart S, Ienca M, Meynen G, Molnar-Gabor F, Andorno R, Bublitz C, Catley P, Claydon L, Douglas T, Farahany N, Fins JJ, Goering S, Haselager P, Jotterand F, Lavazza A, McCay A, Wajnerman Paz A, Rainey S, Ryberg J, Kellmeyer P. Minding Rights: Mapping Ethical and Legal Foundations of 'Neurorights'. Camb Q Healthc Ethics 2023:1-21. [PMID: 37183686 DOI: 10.1017/s0963180123000245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
The rise of neurotechnologies, especially in combination with artificial intelligence (AI)-based methods for brain data analytics, has given rise to concerns around the protection of mental privacy, mental integrity and cognitive liberty - often framed as "neurorights" in ethical, legal, and policy discussions. Several states are now looking at including neurorights into their constitutional legal frameworks, and international institutions and organizations, such as UNESCO and the Council of Europe, are taking an active interest in developing international policy and governance guidelines on this issue. However, in many discussions of neurorights the philosophical assumptions, ethical frames of reference and legal interpretation are either not made explicit or conflict with each other. The aim of this multidisciplinary work is to provide conceptual, ethical, and legal foundations that allow for facilitating a common minimalist conceptual understanding of mental privacy, mental integrity, and cognitive liberty to facilitate scholarly, legal, and policy discussions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sjors Ligthart
- Willem Pompe Institute for Criminal Law and Criminology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Denmark; Department of Criminal Law, Tilburg University, Tilberg, The Netherlands
| | - Marcello Ienca
- School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich (TUM), Germany & College of Humanities, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Gerben Meynen
- Willem Pompe Institute for Criminal Law and Criminology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Denmark; Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Humanities, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | | | - Roberto Andorno
- Institute for Biomedical Ethics and History of Medicine, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | | | - Paul Catley
- School of Law, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK
| | - Lisa Claydon
- School of Law, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK
| | | | | | - Joseph J Fins
- Division of Medical Ethics, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA
| | - Sara Goering
- Department of Philosophy, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Pim Haselager
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Fabrice Jotterand
- Center for Bioethics and Medical Humanities, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA
| | | | - Allan McCay
- The University of Sydney Law School, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Abel Wajnerman Paz
- Instituto de Éticas Aplicadas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Stephen Rainey
- Ethics and Philosophy of Technology Section, Delft University, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Jesper Ryberg
- Department of Philosophy, Roskilde University, Roskilde, Denmark
| | - Philipp Kellmeyer
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Freiburg - Medical Center, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
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Neurorights – Do we Need New Human Rights? A Reconsideration of the Right to Freedom of Thought. NEUROETHICS-NETH 2023. [DOI: 10.1007/s12152-022-09511-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
AbstractProgress in neurotechnology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) provides unprecedented insights into the human brain. There are increasing possibilities to influence and measure brain activity. These developments raise multifaceted ethical and legal questions. The proponents of neurorights argue in favour of introducing new human rights to protect mental processes and brain data. This article discusses the necessity and advantages of introducing new human rights focusing on the proposed new human right to mental self-determination and the right to freedom of thought as enshrined in Art.18 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and Art. 9 European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). I argue that the right to freedom of thought can be coherently interpreted as providing comprehensive protection of mental processes and brain data, thus offering a normative basis regarding the use of neurotechnologies. Besides, I claim that an evolving interpretation of the right to freedom of thought is more convincing than introducing a new human right to mental self-determination.
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Knopf S, Frahm N, M Pfotenhauer S. How Neurotech Start-Ups Envision Ethical Futures: Demarcation, Deferral, Delegation. SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING ETHICS 2023; 29:4. [PMID: 36729246 PMCID: PMC9894989 DOI: 10.1007/s11948-022-00421-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2021] [Accepted: 11/15/2022] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Like many ethics debates surrounding emerging technologies, neuroethics is increasingly concerned with the private sector. Here, entrepreneurial visions and claims of how neurotechnology innovation will revolutionize society-from brain-computer-interfaces to neural enhancement and cognitive phenotyping-are confronted with public and policy concerns about the risks and ethical challenges related to such innovations. But while neuroethics frameworks have a longer track record in public sector research such as the U.S. BRAIN Initiative, much less is known about how businesses-and especially start-ups-address ethics in tech development. In this paper, we investigate how actors in the field frame and enact ethics as part of their innovative R&D processes and business models. Drawing on an empirical case study on direct-to-consumer (DTC) neurotechnology start-ups, we find that actors engage in careful boundary-work to anticipate and address public critique of their technologies, which allows them to delineate a manageable scope of their ethics integration. In particular, boundaries are drawn around four areas: the technology's actual capability, purpose, safety and evidence-base. By drawing such lines of demarcation, we suggest that start-ups make their visions of ethical neurotechnology in society more acceptable, plausible and desirable, favoring their innovations while at the same time assigning discrete responsibilities for ethics. These visions establish a link from the present into the future, mobilizing the latter as promissory place where a technology's benefits will materialize and to which certain ethical issues can be deferred. In turn, the present is constructed as a moment in which ethical engagement could be delegated to permissive regulatory standards and scientific authority. Our empirical tracing of the construction of 'ethical realities' in and by start-ups offers new inroads for ethics research and governance in tech industries beyond neurotechnology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophia Knopf
- School of Social Sciences and Technology, Department of Science, Technology and Society, Technical University Munich, Munich, Germany.
| | - Nina Frahm
- School of Social Sciences and Technology, Department of Science, Technology and Society, Technical University Munich, Munich, Germany
- School of Communication and Culture, Department of Digital Design and Information Studies, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Sebastian M Pfotenhauer
- School of Social Sciences and Technology, Department of Science, Technology and Society, Technical University Munich, Munich, Germany
- School of Management, Technical University Munich, Munich, Germany
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11
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Haeusermann T, Lechner CR, Fong KC, Sideman AB, Jaworska A, Chiong W, Dohan D. Closed-Loop Neuromodulation and Self-Perception in Clinical Treatment of Refractory Epilepsy. AJOB Neurosci 2023; 14:32-44. [PMID: 34473932 PMCID: PMC9007331 DOI: 10.1080/21507740.2021.1958100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Background: Newer "closed-loop" neurostimulation devices in development could, in theory, induce changes to patients' personalities and self-perceptions. Empirically, however, only limited data of patient and family experiences exist. Responsive neurostimulation (RNS) as a treatment for refractory epilepsy is the first approved and commercially available closed-loop brain stimulation system in clinical practice, presenting an opportunity to observe how conceptual neuroethical concerns manifest in clinical treatment.Methods: We conducted ethnographic research at a single academic medical center with an active RNS treatment program and collected data via direct observation of clinic visits and in-depth interviews with 12 patients and their caregivers. We used deductive and inductive analyses to identify the relationship between these devices and patient changes in personality and self-perception.Results: Participants generally did not attribute changes in patients' personalities or self-perception to implantation of or stimulation using RNS. They did report that RNS affected patients' experiences and conceptions of illness. In particular, the capacity to store and display electrophysiological data produced a common frame of reference and a shared vocabulary among patients and clinicians.Discussion: Empirical experiences of a clinical population being treated with closed-loop neuromodulation do not corroborate theoretical concerns about RNS devices described by neuroethicists and technology developers. However, closed-loop devices demonstrated an ability to change illness experiences. Even without altering identify and self-perception, they provided new cultural tools and metaphors for conceiving of epilepsy as an illness and of the process of diagnosis and treatment. These findings call attention to the need to situate neuroethical concerns in the broader contexts of patients' illness experiences and social circumstances.
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12
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Large-scale multimodal surface neural interfaces for primates. iScience 2022; 26:105866. [PMID: 36647381 PMCID: PMC9840154 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.105866] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Deciphering the function of neural circuits can help with the understanding of brain function and treating neurological disorders. Progress toward this goal relies on the development of chronically stable neural interfaces capable of recording and modulating neural circuits with high spatial and temporal precision across large areas of the brain. Advanced innovations in designing high-density neural interfaces for small animal models have enabled breakthrough discoveries in neuroscience research. Developing similar neurotechnology for larger animal models such as nonhuman primates (NHPs) is critical to gain significant insights for translation to humans, yet still it remains elusive due to the challenges in design, fabrication, and system-level integration of such devices. This review focuses on implantable surface neural interfaces with electrical and optical functionalities with emphasis on the required technological features to realize scalable multimodal and chronically stable implants to address the unique challenges associated with nonhuman primate studies.
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13
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Ienca M, Fins JJ, Jox RJ, Jotterand F, Voeneky S, Andorno R, Ball T, Castelluccia C, Chavarriaga R, Chneiweiss H, Ferretti A, Friedrich O, Hurst S, Merkel G, Molnár-Gábor F, Rickli JM, Scheibner J, Vayena E, Yuste R, Kellmeyer P. Towards a Governance Framework for Brain Data. NEUROETHICS-NETH 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s12152-022-09498-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
AbstractThe increasing availability of brain data within and outside the biomedical field, combined with the application of artificial intelligence (AI) to brain data analysis, poses a challenge for ethics and governance. We identify distinctive ethical implications of brain data acquisition and processing, and outline a multi-level governance framework. This framework is aimed at maximizing the benefits of facilitated brain data collection and further processing for science and medicine whilst minimizing risks and preventing harmful use. The framework consists of four primary areas of regulatory intervention: binding regulation, ethics and soft law, responsible innovation, and human rights.
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14
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van Velthoven EAM, van Stuijvenberg OC, Haselager DRE, Broekman M, Chen X, Roelfsema P, Bredenoord AL, Jongsma KR. Ethical implications of visual neuroprostheses-a systematic review. J Neural Eng 2022; 19. [PMID: 35475424 DOI: 10.1088/1741-2552/ac65b2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2021] [Accepted: 04/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Objective. The aim of this review was to systematically identify the ethical implications of visual neuroprostheses.Approach. A systematic search was performed in both PubMed and Embase using a search string that combined synonyms for visual neuroprostheses, brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), cochlear implants (CIs), and ethics. We chose to include literature on BCIs and CIs, because of their ethically relavant similarities and functional parallels with visual neuroprostheses.Main results. We included 84 articles in total. Six focused specifically on visual prostheses. The other articles focused more broadly on neurotechnologies, on BCIs or CIs. We identified 169 ethical implications that have been categorized under seven main themes: (a) benefits for health and well-being; (b) harm and risk; (c) autonomy; (d) societal effects; (e) clinical research; (f) regulation and governance; and (g) involvement of experts, patients and the public.Significance. The development and clinical use of visual neuroprostheses is accompanied by ethical issues that should be considered early in the technological development process. Though there is ample literature on the ethical implications of other types of neuroprostheses, such as motor neuroprostheses and CIs, there is a significant gap in the literature regarding the ethical implications of visual neuroprostheses. Our findings can serve as a starting point for further research and normative analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- E A M van Velthoven
- Department of Medical Humanities, Julius Center, University Medical Center Utrecht, PO Box 85500, Utrecht, 3508 GA, The Netherlands
| | - O C van Stuijvenberg
- Department of Medical Humanities, Julius Center, University Medical Center Utrecht, PO Box 85500, Utrecht, 3508 GA, The Netherlands
| | - D R E Haselager
- Department of Medical Humanities, Julius Center, University Medical Center Utrecht, PO Box 85500, Utrecht, 3508 GA, The Netherlands
| | - M Broekman
- Department of Neurosurgery, Haaglanden Medical Center, The Hague, The Netherlands.,Department of Neurosurgery, Leiden Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - X Chen
- Department of Vision & Cognition, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Meibergdreef 47, 1105 BA Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - P Roelfsema
- Department of Vision & Cognition, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Meibergdreef 47, 1105 BA Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,Department of Integrative Neurophysiology, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, VU University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,Department of Psychiatry, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - A L Bredenoord
- Erasmus School of Philosophy, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - K R Jongsma
- Department of Medical Humanities, Julius Center, University Medical Center Utrecht, PO Box 85500, Utrecht, 3508 GA, The Netherlands
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15
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Eke DO, Bernard A, Bjaalie JG, Chavarriaga R, Hanakawa T, Hannan AJ, Hill SL, Martone ME, McMahon A, Ruebel O, Crook S, Thiels E, Pestilli F. International data governance for neuroscience. Neuron 2022; 110:600-612. [PMID: 34914921 PMCID: PMC8857067 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2021.11.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2021] [Revised: 06/16/2021] [Accepted: 11/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
As neuroscience projects increase in scale and cross international borders, different ethical principles, national and international laws, regulations, and policies for data sharing must be considered. These concerns are part of what is collectively called data governance. Whereas neuroscience data transcend borders, data governance is typically constrained within geopolitical boundaries. An international data governance framework and accompanying infrastructure can assist investigators, institutions, data repositories, and funders with navigating disparate policies. Here, we propose principles and operational considerations for how data governance in neuroscience can be navigated at an international scale and highlight gaps, challenges, and opportunities in a global brain data ecosystem. We consider how to approach data governance in a way that balances data protection requirements and the need for open science, so as to promote international collaboration through federated constructs such as the International Brain Initiative (IBI).
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Affiliation(s)
- Damian O Eke
- Centre for Computing and Social Responsibility, De Montfort University, Leicester, UK; Human Brain Project
| | | | | | - Ricardo Chavarriaga
- Center for Artificial Intelligence, School of Engineering, Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Zurich, Switzerland
| | | | - Anthony J Hannan
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Sean L Hill
- Krembil Centre for Neuroinformatics, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | | | | | - Oliver Ruebel
- Scientific Data Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Sharon Crook
- School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Edda Thiels
- National Science Foundation, Alexandria, VA, USA
| | - Franco Pestilli
- Department of Psychology, Center for Perceptual Systems, Center for Theoretical and Computational Neuroscience, and Institute for Neuroscience, University of Texas, Austin, TX, USA.
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16
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Abstract
The accelerating integration of telehealth technologies in neurology practice has transformed traditional interactions between neurologists and patients, allied clinicians and society. Despite the immense promise of these technologies to improve systems of neurological care, the infusion of telehealth technologies into neurology practice introduces a host of unique ethical challenges. Proactive consideration of the ethical dimensions of teleneurology and of the impact of these innovations on the field of neurology more generally can help to ensure responsible development and deployment across stages of implementation. Toward these ends, this article explores key ethical dimensions of teleneurology practice and policy, presents a normative framework for their consideration, and calls attention to underexplored questions ripe for further study at this evolving nexus of teleneurology and neuroethics. To promote successful and ethically resilient development of teleneurology across diverse contexts, clinicians, organizational leaders, and information technology specialists should work closely with neuroethicists with the common goal of identifying and rigorously assessing the trajectories and potential limits of teleneurology systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J Young
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
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17
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Recommendations for Responsible Development and Application of Neurotechnologies. NEUROETHICS-NETH 2021; 14:365-386. [PMID: 33942016 PMCID: PMC8081770 DOI: 10.1007/s12152-021-09468-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2020] [Accepted: 04/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Advancements in novel neurotechnologies, such as brain computer interfaces (BCI) and neuromodulatory devices such as deep brain stimulators (DBS), will have profound implications for society and human rights. While these technologies are improving the diagnosis and treatment of mental and neurological diseases, they can also alter individual agency and estrange those using neurotechnologies from their sense of self, challenging basic notions of what it means to be human. As an international coalition of interdisciplinary scholars and practitioners, we examine these challenges and make recommendations to mitigate negative consequences that could arise from the unregulated development or application of novel neurotechnologies. We explore potential ethical challenges in four key areas: identity and agency, privacy, bias, and enhancement. To address them, we propose (1) democratic and inclusive summits to establish globally-coordinated ethical and societal guidelines for neurotechnology development and application, (2) new measures, including “Neurorights,” for data privacy, security, and consent to empower neurotechnology users’ control over their data, (3) new methods of identifying and preventing bias, and (4) the adoption of public guidelines for safe and equitable distribution of neurotechnological devices.
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18
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Zuk P, Sanchez CE, Kostick K, Torgerson L, Muñoz KA, Hsu R, Kalwani L, Sierra-Mercado D, Robinson JO, Outram S, Koenig BA, Pereira S, McGuire AL, Lázaro-Muñoz G. Researcher Perspectives on Data Sharing in Deep Brain Stimulation. Front Hum Neurosci 2021; 14:578687. [PMID: 33424563 PMCID: PMC7793701 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2020.578687] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2020] [Accepted: 11/16/2020] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
The expansion of research on deep brain stimulation (DBS) and adaptive DBS (aDBS) raises important neuroethics and policy questions related to data sharing. However, there has been little empirical research on the perspectives of experts developing these technologies. We conducted semi-structured, open-ended interviews with aDBS researchers regarding their data sharing practices and their perspectives on ethical and policy issues related to sharing. Researchers expressed support for and a commitment to sharing, with most saying that they were either sharing their data or would share in the future and that doing so was important for advancing the field. However, those who are sharing reported a variety of sharing partners, suggesting heterogeneity in sharing practices and lack of the broad sharing that would reflect principles of open science. Researchers described several concerns and barriers related to sharing, including privacy and confidentiality, the usability of shared data by others, ownership and control of data (including potential commercialization), and limited resources for sharing. They also suggested potential solutions to these challenges, including additional safeguards to address privacy issues, standardization and transparency in analysis to address issues of data usability, professional norms and heightened cooperation to address issues of ownership and control, and streamlining of data transmission to address resource limitations. Researchers also offered a range of views on the sensitivity of neural activity data (NAD) and data related to mental health in the context of sharing. These findings are an important input to deliberations by researchers, policymakers, neuroethicists, and other stakeholders as they navigate ethics and policy questions related to aDBS research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Zuk
- Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Clarissa E Sanchez
- Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Kristin Kostick
- Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Laura Torgerson
- Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Katrina A Muñoz
- Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Rebecca Hsu
- Evans School of Public Policy and Governance, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Lavina Kalwani
- Department of Biosciences, Rice University, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Demetrio Sierra-Mercado
- Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States.,Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Medicine, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
| | - Jill O Robinson
- Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Simon Outram
- Program in Bioethics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Barbara A Koenig
- Program in Bioethics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Stacey Pereira
- Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Amy L McGuire
- Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Gabriel Lázaro-Muñoz
- Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States
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19
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Rainey S, Erden YJ. Correcting the Brain? The Convergence of Neuroscience, Neurotechnology, Psychiatry, and Artificial Intelligence. SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING ETHICS 2020; 26:2439-2454. [PMID: 32632783 PMCID: PMC7550307 DOI: 10.1007/s11948-020-00240-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
The incorporation of neural-based technologies into psychiatry offers novel means to use neural data in patient assessment and clinical diagnosis. However, an over-optimistic technologisation of neuroscientifically-informed psychiatry risks the conflation of technological and psychological norms. Neurotechnologies promise fast, efficient, broad psychiatric insights not readily available through conventional observation of patients. Recording and processing brain signals provides information from 'beneath the skull' that can be interpreted as an account of neural processing and that can provide a basis to evaluate general behaviour and functioning. But it ought not to be forgotten that the use of such technologies is part of a human practice of neuroscience informed psychiatry. This paper notes some challenges in the integration of neural technologies into psychiatry and suggests vigilance particularly in respect to normative challenges. In this way, psychiatry can avoid a drift toward reductive technological approaches, while nonetheless benefitting from promising advances in neuroscience and technology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen Rainey
- Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, Suite 8, Littlegate House, St Ebbes Street, Oxford, OX1 1PT, UK.
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20
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Postan E. Narrative Devices: Neurotechnologies, Information, and Self-Constitution. NEUROETHICS-NETH 2020; 14:231-251. [PMID: 34721724 PMCID: PMC8549978 DOI: 10.1007/s12152-020-09449-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2020] [Accepted: 09/11/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
This article provides a conceptual and normative framework through which we may understand the potentially ethically significant roles that information generated by neurotechnologies about our brains and minds may play in our construction of our identities. Neuroethics debates currently focus disproportionately on the ways that third parties may (ab)use these kinds of information. These debates occlude interests we may have in whether and how we ourselves encounter information about our own brains and minds. This gap is not yet adequately addressed by most allusions in the literature to potential identity impacts. These lack the requisite conceptual or normative foundations to explain why we should be concerned about such effects or how they might be addressed. This article seeks to fill this gap by presenting a normative account of identity as constituted by embodied self-narratives. It proposes that information generated by neurotechnologies can play significant content-supplying and interpretive roles in our construction of our self-narratives. It argues, to the extent that these roles support and detract from the coherence and inhabitability of these narratives, access to information about our brains and minds engages non-trivial identity-related interests. These claims are illustrated using examples drawn from empirical literature reporting reactions to information generated by implantable predictive BCIs and psychiatric neuroimaging. The article concludes by highlighting ways in which information generated by neurotechnologies might be governed so as to protect information subjects' interests in developing and inhabiting their own identities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily Postan
- The University of Edinburgh School of Law, Edinburgh, UK
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21
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Rainey S, Martin S, Christen A, Mégevand P, Fourneret E. Brain Recording, Mind-Reading, and Neurotechnology: Ethical Issues from Consumer Devices to Brain-Based Speech Decoding. SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING ETHICS 2020; 26:2295-2311. [PMID: 32356091 PMCID: PMC7417394 DOI: 10.1007/s11948-020-00218-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2019] [Accepted: 04/16/2020] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
Brain reading technologies are rapidly being developed in a number of neuroscience fields. These technologies can record, process, and decode neural signals. This has been described as 'mind reading technology' in some instances, especially in popular media. Should the public at large, be concerned about this kind of technology? Can it really read minds? Concerns about mind-reading might include the thought that, in having one's mind open to view, the possibility for free deliberation, and for self-conception, are eroded where one isn't at liberty to privately mull things over. Themes including privacy, cognitive liberty, and self-conception and expression appear to be areas of vital ethical concern. Overall, this article explores whether brain reading technologies are really mind reading technologies. If they are, ethical ways to deal with them must be developed. If they are not, researchers and technology developers need to find ways to describe them more accurately, in order to dispel unwarranted concerns and address appropriately those that are warranted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen Rainey
- Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Stéphanie Martin
- Department of Basic Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Andy Christen
- Department of Basic Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Pierre Mégevand
- Department of Basic Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Eric Fourneret
- Braintech Lab (U 1205), Université Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France
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22
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Brunn M, Diefenbacher A, Courtet P, Genieys W. The Future is Knocking: How Artificial Intelligence Will Fundamentally Change Psychiatry. ACADEMIC PSYCHIATRY : THE JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF DIRECTORS OF PSYCHIATRIC RESIDENCY TRAINING AND THE ASSOCIATION FOR ACADEMIC PSYCHIATRY 2020; 44:461-466. [PMID: 32424706 DOI: 10.1007/s40596-020-01243-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2020] [Accepted: 04/28/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
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23
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Abstract
The direct-to-consumer (DTC) neurotechnology market, which includes some brain-computer interfaces, neurostimulation devices, virtual reality systems, wearables, and smartphone apps is rapidly growing. Given this technology's intimate relationship with the brain, a number of ethical dimensions must be addressed so that the technology can achieve the goal of contributing to human flourishing. This paper identifies safety, transparency, privacy, epistemic appropriateness, existential authenticity, just distribution, and oversight as such dimensions. After an initial exploration of the relevant ethical foundations for DTC neurotechnologies, this paper lays out each dimension and uses examples to justify its inclusion.
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24
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Minielly N, Hrincu V, Illes J. Privacy Challenges to the Democratization of Brain Data. iScience 2020; 23:101134. [PMID: 32438287 PMCID: PMC7235278 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2020.101134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2020] [Revised: 04/17/2020] [Accepted: 04/29/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Wearable devices that record brain signals may present privacy concerns for consumers. Industry leaders discussed four such concerns with us that pertain to data collection and management, user autonomy and information transparency, exceptionalism of brain data, and regulatory systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole Minielly
- Neuroethics Canada, Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, 2211 Wesbrook Mall, Koerner S124, Vancouver, BC V6T 2B5, Canada
| | - Viorica Hrincu
- Neuroethics Canada, Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, 2211 Wesbrook Mall, Koerner S124, Vancouver, BC V6T 2B5, Canada
| | - Judy Illes
- Neuroethics Canada, Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, 2211 Wesbrook Mall, Koerner S124, Vancouver, BC V6T 2B5, Canada.
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25
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Rainey S, Bublitz JC, Maslen H, Thornton H. Data as a Cross-Cutting Dimension of Ethical Importance in Direct-to-Consumer Neurotechnologies. AJOB Neurosci 2020; 10:180-182. [PMID: 31642752 DOI: 10.1080/21507740.2019.1665134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
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26
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Naufel S, Klein E. Brain–computer interface (BCI) researcher perspectives on neural data ownership and privacy. J Neural Eng 2020; 17:016039. [DOI: 10.1088/1741-2552/ab5b7f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
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27
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Lupton D. Toward a More-Than-Human Approach to Neurotechnologies. AJOB Neurosci 2019; 10:174-176. [PMID: 31642748 DOI: 10.1080/21507740.2019.1665136] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Deborah Lupton
- Vitalities Lab, Centre for Social Research in Health and Social Policy Research Centre, UNSW Sydney
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28
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Abstract
Neuroethics research and scholarship intersect with dynamic academic disciplines in science, engineering, and the humanities. On the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the formation of the International Neuroethics Society, we identify current and future topics for neuroethics and discuss the many social and political challenges that emerge from the converging dynamics of neurotechnologies and artificial intelligence. We also highlight the need for a global, transdisciplinary, and integrated community of researchers to address the challenges that are precipitated by this rapid sociotechnological transformation.
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