Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-xbtfd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-06T02:16:57.614Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

63 - Neuroethics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 October 2009

Eric Racine
Affiliation:
Director Institut de Recherches Clinique de Montréal, Montréal Canada
Judy Illes
Affiliation:
Standford University, Palo Alto USA
Peter A. Singer
Affiliation:
University of Toronto
A. M. Viens
Affiliation:
University of Oxford
Get access

Summary

Mr. L is a 65-year-old man who has entered early retirement after a long and successful career as a business executive. Having had little time to keep up with current political events, let alone scientific events for which he always had particular curiosity while making his fortune, he has begun to devour a number of major newspapers each day and listen to medical talk shows. He even recently bought a subscription to a high-quality science news publication geared for the educated lay public, and goes on the Internet daily to read news alerts he has signed up for about major scientific advances. His interest in having a brain scan is piqued by Internet and print media advertisements for a computed tomographic scan of the whole body, which includes a free head scan, and by announcements from a nearby university known to be doing cutting-edge Alzheimer' research recruiting for subjects in his age group. He is puzzled by some claims made that preventive brain scans find serious conditions before the manifestations of symptoms. He asks his physician if he should purchase the scan service and if the research opportunity he is offered could serve the same purpose.

What is neuroethics?

Neuroethics is a new field at the intersection of bioethics and neuroscience that focuses on the ethics of neuroscience research and the ethical issues that emerge in the translation of neuroscience research to the clinical and public domain (Marcus, 2002; Illes and Racine, 2007).

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abbott, A. (2005). Deep in thought. Nature 436: 18–19.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
American Medical Association (1999). Policy E-5.015: Direct-to-Consumer Advertisements of Prescription Drugs. Chicago, IL: American Medical Association (http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/print/8347.html) accessed 23 March 2006.
American Medical Association (2001). AMA Code of Ethics. Chicago, IL: American Medical Association (www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/2498.html) accessed 23 March 2006.
,Anon. (2005). How volunteering for an MRI scan changed my life. Nature 434: 17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Appelbaum, P. S., Roth, L. H., Lidz, C. W., Benson, P., and Winslade, W. (1987). False hopes and best data: consent to research and the therapeutic misconception. Hastings Cent Rep 17: 20–4.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Arthur, D. and Wuester, P. (2003). The ethicality of using fear for social advertising. Aust Market J 11: 12–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Babcock, Q. and Byrne, T. (2000). Student perceptions of methylphenidate abuse at a public liberal arts college. J Am Coll Health 49: 143–5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beauchamp, T. and Childress, J. (2001). Principles of Biomedical Ethics, 5th edn. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Berger, M., Wagner, T. H., and Baker, L. C. (2005). Internet use and stigmatized illness. Soc Sci Med 61: 1821–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
British Medical Association (2005). Trust in Doctors. London: British Medical Association (www.bma.org.uk/ap.nsf/Content/MORI05) accessed 23 March 2006.
Bubela, T. M. and Caulfield, T. (2004). Do the print media “hype” genetic research? A comparison of newspaper stories and peer-reviewed research papers. CMAJ 170: 1399–1407.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Canadian Institute for Health Information (2004). Medical Imaging in Canada. Ottawa: Canadian Institute for Health Information.Google Scholar
Cassels, A., Hughes, M. A., Cole, C., et al. (2003). Drugs in the news: an analysis of Canadian newspaper coverage of new prescription drugs. CMAJ 168: 1133–7.Google ScholarPubMed
Caulfield, T. (2004). The commercialisation of medical and scientific reporting. PLoS Med 1: e38.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Central Brain Tumor Registry of the United States (2004). Statistical Report: Primary Brain Tumors in the United States, 1997–2001. Hinsdale, NJ: Central Brain Tumor Registry of the United States.Google Scholar
Check, E. (2005). Fetal genetic testing: screen test. Nature 438: 733–4.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chittenden, M. (2005). Brain ‘pacemaker’ can lift depression. Sunday Times, 7 February, 4.Google Scholar
Cho, M. K. (2002). Conflicts of interest in magnetic resonance imaging: issues in clinical practice and research. Top Magn Reson Imaging 13: 73–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cho, M. K., Arruda, M., and Holtzman, N. A. (1997). Educational material about genetic tests: does it provide key information for patients and practitioners?Am J Med Genet 73: 314–20.3.0.CO;2-M>CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Conrad, P. (2001). Genetic optimism: framing genes and mental illness in the news. Cult Med Psychiatry 25: 225–47.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Doucet, H. (2005). Imagining a neuroethics which would go further than genethics. Am J Bioethics 5: 29–31.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Duke, C., Pickett, G. M., Carlson, L., and Groe, S. J. (2001). A method for evaluating the ethics of fear appeals. J Public Policy Market 12: 120–9.Google Scholar
Editorial (2006). Neuroethics needed. Nature 441: 907.CrossRef
Farah, M. J., Illes, J., Cook-Deegan, R., et al. (2004). Neurocognitive enhancement: what can we do and what should we do?Nat Rev Neurosci 5: 421–5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fuchs, V. R. (1968). The growing demand for medical care. N Engl J Med 279: 190–5.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gahart, M. T., Duhamel, L. M., Dievler, A., and Price, R. (2003). Examining the FDA's oversight of direct-to-consumer advertising. Health Aff (Millwood) Suppl Web Exclusives, W3-120-3.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gallup Poll (2005). Nurses Remain Atop Honesty and Ethics List. Princeton: Gallup Poll (http://poll.gallup.com/content/?ci=20254) accessed 23 March 2006.
Gollust, S. E., Hull, S. C., and Wilfond, B. S. (2002). Limitations of direct-to-consumer advertising for clinical genetic testing. JAMA 288: 1762–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gollust, S. E., Wilfond, B. S., and Hull, S. C. (2003). Direct-to-consumer sales of genetic services on the Internet. Genet Med 5: 332–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gostin, L. O. (1980). Ethical considerations of psychosurgery: the unhappy legacy of the prefrontal lobotomy. J Med Ethics 6: 149–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grimes v. Kennedy Krieger Institute, Inc. (2001). West's Atl Rep782: 807–62.
Hasman, A. and Soren, H. (2006). Direct-to-consumer advertising: should there be a free market in healthcare information. Camb Q Healthc Ethics 15: 42–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Health Canada (2004). Whole Body Screening Using MRI or CT Technology. Ottawa: Health Canada (www.hc-sc.gc.ca/iyh-vsv/med/mri-irm_e.html) accessed 23 March 2006.
Hilgenberg, S. (2005). Formation, malformation, and transformation: my experience as medical student and patient. Stanford Med Stud Clin J 9: 22–5.Google Scholar
Hollon, M. F. (2004). Direct-to-consumer marketing of prescription drugs: a current perspective for neurologists and psychiatrists. CNS Drugs 18: 69–77.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Illes, J. and Racine, E. (2005). Neuroethics: a dialogue on a continuum from tradition to innovation. Am J Bioethics 5: 5–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Illes, J. and Racine, E. (2007). Neuroethics: From neurotechnology to healthcare. Camb Q Healthc Ethics 16: 125–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Illes, J., Fan, E., Koenig, B., et al. (2003a). Self-referred whole-body CT imaging: current implications for health care consumers. Radiology 228: 346–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Illes, J., Kirschen, M. P., and Gabrieli, J. D. (2003b). From neuroimaging to neuroethics. Nat Neurosci 6: 205.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Illes, J., Kann, D., Karetsky, K., et al. (2004a). Advertising, patient decision making, and self-referral for computed tomographic and magnetic resonance imaging. Arch Intern Med 164: 2415–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Illes, J., Kirschen, M. P., Karetsky, K., et al. (2004b). Discovery and disclosure of incidental findings in neuroimaging research. J Magn Reson Imaging 20: 743–7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Illes, J., Rosen, A. C., Huang, L., et al. (2004c). Ethical consideration of incidental findings on adult brain MRI in research. Neurology 62: 888–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Illes, J., Kirschen, M. P., Edwards, E., for the Working Group on Incidental Findings in Brain Imaging Research (2006). Incidental findings in brain imaging research. Science 311: 783–4.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Katzman, G. L., Dagher, A. P., and Patronas, N. J. (1999). Incidental findings on brain magnetic resonance imaging from 1000 asymptomatic volunteers. JAMA 281: 36–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kim, B. S., Illes, J., Kaplan, R. T., Reiss, A., and Atlas, S. W. (2002). Incidental findings on pediatric MR images of the brain. Am J Neuroradiol 23: 1674–7.Google Scholar
Kirschen, M. P., Jaworska, A., and Illes, J. (2006). Subjects' expectations in neuroimaging research. J Magn Reson Imaging 23: 205–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kroutil, L. A., Brunt, D. L., Herman–Stahl, M. A., et al. (2006). Nonmedical use of prescription stimulants in the United States. Drug Alc Depend 84: 135–43.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kua, E., Reder, M., and Grossel, M. J. (2004). Science in the news: a study of reporting genomics. Public Underst Sci 13: 309–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marcus, S. J. (ed.) (2002). Neuroethics: Mapping the Field, Conference Proceedings. New York: Dana Foundation.Google Scholar
Mashour, G. A., Walker, E. E., and Martuza, R. L. (2005). Psychosurgery: past, present, and future. Brain Res Rev 48: 409–19.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mayberg, H. S., Lozano, A. M., Voon, V., et al. (2005). Deep brain stimulation for treatment-resistant depression. Neuron 45: 651–60.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
New York State Task Force on Life and the Law (2005). Dietary Supplements: Balancing Consumer Choice and Safety. Albany, NY: Department of Health.Google Scholar
Olson, S. (2005). Brain scans raise privacy concerns. Science 307: 1548–50.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
O'Malley, P. G. and Taylor, A. J. (2004). Unregulated direct-to-consumer marketing and self-referral for screening imaging services. Arch Intern Med 164: 2406–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pellegrino, E. D. and Thomasma, D. C. (1988). For the Patient's Good: The Restoration of Beneficence in Health Care. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Racine, E., Bar-Ilan, O., and Illes, J. (2005a). fMRI in the public eye. Nat Rev Neurosci 6: 159–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Racine, E., Waldman, S., and Illes, J. (2005b). Ethics and scientific accuracy in print media coverage of modern neurotechnology. In Proceedings of the 2005 Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, Washington.Google Scholar
Racine, E., Gareau, I., Doucet, H., et al. (2006). Hyped biomedical science or uncritical reporting? Press coverage of genomics (1992–2001) in Québec. Soc Sci Med 62: 1278–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Racine, E., Loos, H. Z. A., and Illes, J. (2007). Internet marketing of neuroproducts: New practices and healthcare policy challenges. Camb Q Healthc Ethics 16: 181–94.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Risk, A. and Petersen, C. (2002). Health information on the Internet: Quality issues and international initiatives. JAMA 287: 2713–15.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rosen, A. C., Bodke, A. L. W., Pearl, A., and Yesavage, J. A. (2002). Ethical, and practical issues in applying functional imaging to the clinical management of Alzheimer's disease. Brain Cogn 50: 498–519.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shiv, B., Edell, J. A., and Payne, J. W. (1997). Factors affecting the impact of negatively and positively framed ad messages. J Consum Res 24: 285–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Styra, R. (2004). The Internet's impact on the practice of psychiatry. Can J Psychiatry 49: 5–11.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Terzian, T. V. (1999). Direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising. Am J Law Med 25: 149–67.Google ScholarPubMed
Vastag, B. (2004). Poised to challenge need for sleep, “wakefulness enhancer” rouses concerns. JAMA 291: 167–70.Google Scholar
Vries, R. D. (2005). Framing neuroethics: a sociological assessment of the neuroethical imagination. Am J Bioethics 5: 25–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Weber, F. and Knopf, H. (2006). Incidental findings in magnetic resonance imaging of the brains of healthy young men. J Neurol Sci 210: 81–4.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weissman, J. S., Blumenthal, D., Silk, A. J., et al. (2004). Physicians report on patient encounters involving direct-to-consumer advertising. Health Aff (Millwood), Suppl Web Exclusives, W4-19-33.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wolfe, S. M. (2002). Direct-to-consumer advertising: education or emotion promotion. N Engl J Med 346: 524–6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wolpe, P. R. (2002). Treatment, enhancement, and the ethics of neurotherapeutics. Brain Cogn 50: 387–95.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wolpe, P. R., Foster, K. R., and Langleben, D. D. (2005). Emerging neurotechnologies for lie-detection: promises and perils. Am J Bioethics 5: 39–49.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

  • Neuroethics
    • By Eric Racine, Director Institut de Recherches Clinique de Montréal, Montréal Canada, Judy Illes, Standford University, Palo Alto USA
  • Edited by Peter A. Singer, University of Toronto, A. M. Viens, University of Oxford
  • Book: The Cambridge Textbook of Bioethics
  • Online publication: 30 October 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511545566.073
Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • Neuroethics
    • By Eric Racine, Director Institut de Recherches Clinique de Montréal, Montréal Canada, Judy Illes, Standford University, Palo Alto USA
  • Edited by Peter A. Singer, University of Toronto, A. M. Viens, University of Oxford
  • Book: The Cambridge Textbook of Bioethics
  • Online publication: 30 October 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511545566.073
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Neuroethics
    • By Eric Racine, Director Institut de Recherches Clinique de Montréal, Montréal Canada, Judy Illes, Standford University, Palo Alto USA
  • Edited by Peter A. Singer, University of Toronto, A. M. Viens, University of Oxford
  • Book: The Cambridge Textbook of Bioethics
  • Online publication: 30 October 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511545566.073
Available formats
×