HONS 1850 Neuroethics – Spring 2019

Last edited: April 22, 2019

Class attitudes and goals

· EPISTEMIC HUMILITY

· NULLIUS IN VERBA

The field of neuroethics

William Safire is credited with coining the term neuroethics.

A good reference book is The Oxford Handbook of Neuroethics, edited by Judy Illes. It is available electronically through the Heard Libraries.

For those who are interested, here are some other resources

The February 6, 2019 issue of NEURON published the following articles on neuroethics

Editorial

Neuroethics: Think Global

Karen S. Rommelfanger, Sung-Jin Jeong, Caroline Montojo, Mariela Zirlinger

NeuroViews

A Neuroethics Framework for the Australian Brain Initiative

Open Access

Neuroethics is central to the Australian Brain Initiative’s aim to sustain a thriving and responsible neurotechnology industry. Diverse and inclusive community and stakeholder engagement and a trans-disciplinary approach to neuroethics will be key to the success of the Australian Brain Initiative.

A Neuroethics Backbone for the Evolving Canadian Brain Research Strategy

Judy Illes, Samuel Weiss, Jaideep Bains, Jennifer A. Chandler, Patricia Conrod, Yves De Koninck, Lesley K. Fellows, Deanna Groetzinger, Eric Racine, Julie M. Robillard, Marla B. Sokolowski

Open Access

Building on Canada’s strong traditions in neuroscience and ethics, neuroethics provides a backbone for the evolving Canadian Brain Research Strategy (CBRS) that, from the outset, incorporates ethically responsible discoveries in brain science into clinical, societal, educational, and commercial innovation.

Responsibility and Sustainability in Brain Science, Technology, and Neuroethics in China—a Culture-Oriented Perspective

Yi Wang, Jie Yin, Guoyu Wang, Pingping Li, Guoqiang Bi, Suning Li, Xiaohuan Xia, Jianren Song, Gang Pei, Jialin C. Zheng

Open Access

The China Brain Project is in development. Integrating an ethical framework to identify and assess ethical challenges and plan for solutions is a priority. Here Wang et al. discuss ethical questions emerging from brain research in the context of traditional Chinese culture and juxtapose the legacy of Confucianism with contemporary thinking.

The Human Brain Project: Responsible Brain Research for the Benefit of Society

Arleen Salles, Jan G. Bjaalie, Kathinka Evers, Michele Farisco, B. Tyr Fothergill, Manuel Guerrero, Hannah Maslen, Jeffrey Muller, Tony Prescott, Bernd C. Stahl, Henrik Walter, Karl Zilles, Katrin Amunts

Open Access

Recognizing that its research may raise various ethical, social, and philosophical issues, the HBP has made the identification, examination, and management of those issues a top priority. The Ethics and Society subproject is part of the core research project.

Neuroethical Issues of the Brain/MINDS Project of Japan

Norihiro Sadato, Kentaro Morita, Kiyoto Kasai, Tamami Fukushi, Katsuki Nakamura, Eisuke Nakazawa, Hideyuki Okano, Shigeo Okabe

The Brain/MINDS project aims to further understand the human brain and neuropsychiatric disorders through “translatable” biomarkers. Here, we describe the neuroethical issues of the project that have arisen from clinical data collection and the use of biological models of neuropsychiatric disorders.

Korea Brain Initiative: Emerging Issues and Institutionalization of Neuroethics

Sung-Jin Jeong, In Young Lee, Bang Ook Jun, Young-Joon Ryu, Jeong-woo Sohn, Sung-Phil Kim, Choong-Wan Woo, Ja Wook Koo, Il-Joo Cho, Uhtaek Oh, Kyungjin Kim, Pann-Ghill Suh

Open Access

Neuroscience research has become a national priority for the Korean government. Korean scholars have dedicated interest in the societal ramifications of neurotechnologies; neuroethics is an integral component of the Korea Brain Initiative and to the formation of its growing neuroscience community.

The NIH BRAIN Initiative: Integrating Neuroethics and Neuroscience

Khara M. Ramos, Christine Grady, Henry T. Greely, Winston Chiong, James Eberwine, Nita A. Farahany, L.Syd M. Johnson, Bradley T. Hyman, Steven E. Hyman, Karen S. Rommelfanger, Elba E. Serrano, James D. Churchill, Joshua A. Gordon, Walter J. Koroshetz

Open Access

The NIH Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative is focused on developing new tools and neurotechnologies to transform our understanding of the brain, and neuroethics is an essential component of this research effort. Coordination with other brain projects around the world will help maximize success.

Mind-brain relations

Basics of brain function

This is a well-known, authoritative textbook available online: Neuroscience. by Purves, Dale; Augustine, George J.; Fitzpatrick, David; Katz, Lawrence C.; LaMantia, Anthony-Samuel; McNamara, James O.; Williams, S. Mark Sunderland (MA): Sinauer Associates, Inc.; 2001.
Basic brain and neuron structure and function

Brain measurement and manipulation

Limits and cautions of human brain imaging

Chapter

Linking mental and neural function

Here are the items for discussion in class:

A short video on mind/brain question (2 mins)
Discussion of mind, brain, and consciousness. (2 mins)
Reading on Dualism.

Here are a few other resources:

Perception and reality

For discussion in class:

A Youtube video on factors affecting time perception
Reading Metaperceptions: How Do You See Yourself? from Psychology Today

Here are the publications mentioned in the video:

The neural substrates of subjective time dilation. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
Is subjective duration a signature of coding efficiency? Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.
Does Time Really Slow Down during a Frightening Event? PLOS | One

Consciousness

For discussion in class:

Daniel Dennett on the Magic of Consciousness

For further consideration:

Baars - Global workspace theory
Dehaene - Toward a computational theory of conscious processing
Dennett – Multiple drafts model
Tononi – Integrated information theory

Introduction to ethics

For discussion in class:

Powerpoint presentation

Free will and determinism

For consideration before class:

· Read the Introduction and Sections 3.1 and 3.2 of Free Will (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

· Watch John Searle on The Paradox of Free Will & Determinism

Law-Neuro: Criminal responsibility

The Brain on the Stand. Jeffrey Rosen. The New York Times Magazine.
The Agenda. Steve Paikin. TVOntario Interview with Julian Gojer, Alan D Gold, Joshua Greene, Michael Persinger; November 25, 2010
Ted Talk: The neuroscience of restorative justice | Daniel Reisel

Law-Neuro: Lie Detection & Brain death

Lie detection

Ted Talk: The facts and follies of lie detection | Andre Wang
The Truth About Lie Detection: We do it every day, but most of us only do it half right. Joe Navarro. Psychology Today

Brain death

The Challenges of Defining and Diagnosing Brain Death. Karen Nitkin. Johns Hopkins Medicine.

Class presentation

Brain-Machine Interfaces

“The chemical or physical inventor is always a Prometheus. There is no great invention, from fire to flying, which has not been hailed as an insult to some god. But if every physical and chemical invention is a blasphemy, every biological invention is a perversion. There is hardly one which, on first being brought to the notice of an observer from any nation which had not previously heard of their existence, would not appear to him as indecent and unnatural.” --- J. B. S. Haldane in Daedalus of Science and the Future, A paper read to the Heretics, Cambridge on February 4th, 1923

Reading for class