Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1 Developments in neuroscience
- 2 The origins of the modern concept of “neuroscience”
- 3 On the cusp
- 4 The mind-body issue
- 5 Personal identity and the nature of the self
- 6 Religious issues and the question of moral autonomy
- 7 Toward a cognitive neurobiology of the moral virtues
- 8 From a neurophilosophy of pain to a neuroethics of pain care
- 9 Transplantation and xenotransplantation
- 10 Neurogenetics and ethics
- 11 Neuroimaging
- 12 Can we read minds?
- 13 Possibilities, limits, and implications of brain-computer interfacing technologies
- 14 Neural engineering
- 15 Neurotechnology as a public good
- 16 Globalization: pluralist concerns and contexts
- 17 The human condition and strivings to flourish
- 18 The limits of neuro-talk
- Afterword
- Index
15 - Neurotechnology as a public good
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 May 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1 Developments in neuroscience
- 2 The origins of the modern concept of “neuroscience”
- 3 On the cusp
- 4 The mind-body issue
- 5 Personal identity and the nature of the self
- 6 Religious issues and the question of moral autonomy
- 7 Toward a cognitive neurobiology of the moral virtues
- 8 From a neurophilosophy of pain to a neuroethics of pain care
- 9 Transplantation and xenotransplantation
- 10 Neurogenetics and ethics
- 11 Neuroimaging
- 12 Can we read minds?
- 13 Possibilities, limits, and implications of brain-computer interfacing technologies
- 14 Neural engineering
- 15 Neurotechnology as a public good
- 16 Globalization: pluralist concerns and contexts
- 17 The human condition and strivings to flourish
- 18 The limits of neuro-talk
- Afterword
- Index
Summary
NEUROTECHNOLOGY: A FOCUS FOR PUBLIC POLICY
The field of neuroscience draws together many disciplines in the study of the nervous system and the properties of mind. Although understanding the basic structure and physiology of the brain and its processes has led to high-impact findings, it is typically the manipulation or application of this knowledge that is most interesting to individuals outside the scientific community. The development and use of neurotechnologies, those tools and devices that interact with and modulate the nervous system, is a fast-emerging area of technical achievement that has vast potential to impact our understanding of, and interaction with the brain. The rapidly growing field of neurotechnology research and development employs knowledge and tools from diverse fields. It is through interdisciplinary, collaborative thinking that great advances have been made to develop, research, and transfer neurotechnology to the clinic and beyond. Such technologies include functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), electroencephalography (EEG), functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), deep brain stimulation (DBS), and neural prosthetics. Investigation into the mechanisms and functions of the brain is leading to a vastly improved understanding of brain disease, injuries, human cognition, and behavior, and will give us an unprecedented ability to heal, enhance, and manipulate the nervous system.
Many ethical, legal, and social implications (ELSI) of these technologies and their identified and potential uses have emerged, with others still to surface, as the scientific community and general public have increasing access to medical and commercial neurotechnologies (Eaton & Illes 2007).
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Scientific and Philosophical Perspectives in Neuroethics , pp. 302 - 320Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2010