neurons

Inconsistencies in the treatment of disorders of consciousness: 200+ professionals surveyed

Research on patients who have impaired consciousness, especially those who acquired severe brain injury or who have suffered from prolonged disorders of consciousness, has exploded in the last decade, not least within the Human Brain Project. With two international guidelines (one from Europe and one from the United States) available to facilitate care for these…

Neuroethics & philosophical reflection in the Human Brain Project

In the Human Brain Project, neuroethics and philosophical reflection have provided an interface between empirical brain sciences, philosophy of mind, moral philosophy, ethics, psychology, and social sciences. The efforts made to include conceptual and normative reflection on the ethical, social, cultural, and philosophical issues that drive and arise from brain research are unique. Over the…

Consciousness, cognition and neuroethics in the clinical context

Neuroscience is making tremendous progress in the field of consciousness. With new knowledge on Disorders of Consciousness (i.e., Vegetative State/Unaware Wakefulness Syndrome, Minimally Conscious State, Cognitive-Motor Dissociation) coming out of the Human Brain Project, neuroethical reflection on both foundational and practical issues becomes imperative. Foundational issues include the definition of consciousness and its possible use…

Brain-inspired AI, neuroethics and responsible neuroscience: an AI ethics training module

Interest in artificial intelligence, and the field of AI ethics, has exploded in the last 10 years. We have developed a training module on the potential synergies between AI ethics and neuroethics. Using brain-inspired AI as a case study the course analyses two aspects: emerging issues and methodology. The goal is to raise awareness of…

Eye, photo by Swapnil Potdar on Unsplash

Identify, assess and better manage ethical issues raised by brain research!

Ethical reflection can actively contribute to maximising the public benefit derived from research and reduce (and hopefully help close) the gap that exists between science and society. Given the impressive advancement of scientific research on the brain, specifically on consciousness, and the rate of AI development and its translation in commercial applications, it is extremely…

What it is that makes us human

Including society and ethics in brain science

What is it that makes us human? Our brain is more complex than the brain of other animals. It has made us able to use tools, control fire, build supercomputers and explore the universe. Digital tools allow us to learn more about the brain. What we learn is embedded in, and dependent on growing worlds…

Eye, photo by Swapnil Potdar on Unsplash

Emerging ethical issues in research on consciousness

A recent special issue of the American Journal of Bioethics –  Neuroscience offers analyses of different ethical issues raised by research on consciousness. Contributions from international scholars in the field address challenges ranging from moral interpretations, technological manipulations, artificial replications, pharmacological alternations and the potential to attribute consciousness to engineered brain cells. The issue is…

neurons

Responsibility key to implementing guidelines for treating disorders of consciousness

A disorder of consciousness is a state where consciousness has been affected by devastating damage to the brain. The diagnosis and health care of patients suffering from these disorders raise several clinical as well as ethical issues. And researchers are still looking for ways to solve them. Recent guidelines, European and American, offer important recommendations…

Indicators and criteria of consciousness for behaviourally unresponsive patients

Identifying and quantifying residual consciousness in patients with disorders of consciousness is notoriously challenging but increasingly urgent. There is a high rate of misdiagnosis among patients suffering from these disorders, particularly between vegetative states/unresponsive wakefulness syndrome and minimally conscious states. A recent BMC Medical Ethics publication explores how operational indicators previously introduced to assess consciousness…