Neuroethics
Neuroethics studies ethical questions raised by neuroscience and investigates the neural bases of moral thought and behavior.
Deep brain stimulation: A treatment that uses implanted electrodes to deliver electrical pulses to targeted brain regions. Its effects on mood, agency, and identity raise questions about consent and personal change.
Neuroscience: The scientific study of the nervous system, including its structure, function, development, and disorders. Neuroethics examines both the methods and consequences of this scientific field.
Adina Roskies: A philosopher of neuroscience who helped define neuroethics as a distinct area of inquiry. Her framework separated ethical issues raised by neuroscience from neuroscience's study of moral thought.
Bioethics: The study of ethical issues in medicine, biomedical research, and the life sciences. Neuroethics overlaps with bioethics but focuses on distinctive questions about brains, minds, and behavior.
Neurolaw: The study of interactions between neuroscience and law, including legal uses of brain science. Courts and legal systems must decide when neural evidence is relevant, reliable, and fair.
Cognitive enhancement: The use of methods or substances to improve cognitive abilities beyond ordinary functioning. Neuroscience makes enhancement more targeted while sharpening questions about fairness and acceptable intervention.
Moral psychology: The study of the psychological processes involved in moral judgment, emotion, and behavior. Its questions about how people judge right and wrong meet neuroscience's search for neural mechanisms.
William Safire: An American writer and political commentator who helped popularize the term neuroethics. He used the term in public discussions that helped establish the field's name.
Research ethics: Principles and practices governing the ethical conduct of research involving people, animals, or data. Neuroscience studies require familiar safeguards while raising special concerns about neural data and intervention.
Brain death: The irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain, including the brainstem, under a widely used medical definition. Defining death by neurological criteria raises questions about diagnosis, consent, and the boundary of personhood.