News

Brain Scanners as Lie Detectors?

In this story in the August issue of Scientific American, neuroethicists Henry Greely and Judy Illes call for a ban on nonresearch uses of fMRI brain-scanning technology, responding to its attempted use in court cases and daily life as a sort of lie detector. [registration may be required to access story.]

Web Resource

Short Course in Neuroethics Available to All

The independent study Web course "Advances in Neuroscience and their Ethical Implications" includes sections on neuroimaging, neurogenetics, neuropharmacology and neurotechnology, with background information, case studies and a resource list with links.

Why We 'Do Unto Others'

Why We 'Do Unto Others'

Donald Pfaff, Ph.D., head of the Laboratory of Neurobiology and Behavior at Rockefeller University, gives us a science-based hypothesis of why humans across time and geography have such similar notions of right and wrong.

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News

Neuromarketers: The New Influence-peddlers?

by Jim Schnabel

Neuromarketers claim that by using high-tech imaging to study the brain’s reactions directly, they can get information that's more detailed and reliable than traditional surveys and focus groups—and so sell more to more consumers. The Nielsen Company, which provides the famous “Nielsen ratings,” has just bought in. Should the rest of us?

PODCAST

Law and Brain Science

Scientific American

Scientific American's new podcast features an interview with Michael Gazzaniga on the legal aspects of neuroscience, including lie detection, verbal vs. nonverbal incrimination, the nature of pain and The Law and Neuroscience Project, the new MacArthur Foundation effort that he directs. [25 min Web stream] 

Research Must Pass an Ethical 'Smell Test'
Column

Research Must Pass an Ethical 'Smell Test'

by Guy McKhann, M.D

Brain researchers must be cognizant not just of the neuroethical implications of their work, but also of the ethical issues in their own professional behavior.

A Brain Region for 'Free Won't?'

More evidence suggests that brain dysfunction can compromise free will

by Tom Valeo

Researchers at University College London have detected an impulse control area of the frontal lobes by using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Their work adds to the debate over how much "free will" is a matter of brain matter and how much is a matter of self-control.

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Brain Science Enters the Courtroom

Brain Science Enters the Courtroom

by Ben Mauk

Neuroethicist Michael Gazzaniga shows a D.C. audience the links between brain and courtroom, including the validity of pleading not guilty by reason of insanity, the difficulties of diagnosing minimally conscious states and the neuroscience behind behavioral biases that can affect evidence in a trial.

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'Mind Wars' Debate Launches Podcast Series
Podcast

'Mind Wars' Debate Launches Podcast Series

Nature NeuroPod, the first neurocience podcast coproduced by Nature and the Dana Foundation, includes segments on what brain imaging really tells us, anaesthetics that don't cause paralysis, learning under stress and how brain research is changing the face of warfare—featuring the Dana Foundation’s trans-Atlantic Mind Wars discussion. (On the Nature site linked from the headline, look for the podcast under “October 2007.”)

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Webcast

The Neuroethics of Enhancement

Panelists discuss the latest research and give perspectives about the legal and neuroethical issues emerging from psychopharmacology of therapy and enhancement.

Neuroethics at Age 5
Essay

Neuroethics at Age 5

Progress Report 2007

Harvard Provost Steven E. Hyman,M.D., discusses ethics and policy issues raised by advances in brain science.

Defining Right and Wrong in Brain Science
From Dana Press Books

Defining Right and Wrong in Brain Science

Essential Readings in Neuroethics

by Walter Glannon, Ph. D., editor

Contributors include Adina Roskies on neuroethics for the New millennium, Martha J. Farah and Paul Root Wolpe on monitoring and manipulating brain function, Antonio Damasio on the neural basis of social behavior, and Alan Leshner on ethical issues in taking neuroscience research from bench to bedside.

See also

Featuring news and analysis on the implications of brain science 

Annual Meeting of the Neuroethics Society Nov. 13-14, 2008

The conference, held in Washington, D.C., includes lectures, forums, debates, poster sessions and other events on topics including the science of decision-making and free will, national intelligence and neuroscience  and the ethics of  forensic neuroscience,  cognitive enhancement and treatments for psychiatric disorders. Registration is now open. 
From Dana Press: Defining Right and Wrong in Brain Science

From Dana Press: Defining Right and Wrong in Brain Science

The fifth volume in The Dana Foundation Series on Neuroethics, this collection marks the five-year anniversary of the first meeting in the field of neuroethics, providing readers with the seminal writings on past, present, and future ethical issues facing neuroscience and society.

Webcasts and Podcasts

Webcasts:

Mind Wars: A trans-Atlantic discussion on how brain research may change the way wars are fought (9/26/2007, Dana Centre in London and Dana Center in Washington, DC)

The Neuroethics of Enhancement (5/14/2007, Dana Center in Washington, DC) 

Neuroethics: The Ethics of Brain Research (6/23/2005, Dana Centre in London)

Science, Ethics, and the Law (5/10/2005, Dana Centre in Washington, DC)

Podcasts:

Neuroethics (12/01/2003, 58 min)

 

Hard Science, Hard Choices

Hard Science, Hard Choices

Top scholars and scientists discuss new and complex medical and social ethics brought about by advances in neuroscience. Based on an invitational meeting co-sponsored by the Library of Congress, the National Institutes of Health, the Columbia University Center for Bioethics, and the Dana Foundation.