Our partner journal, Neuroethics, has issued the following call for papers. Please direct inquiries to the issue's guest editor:
Call for Papers
ETHICAL IMPLICATIONS OF DEEP BRAIN STIMULATION
SPECIAL ISSUE OF SPRINGER’S JOURNAL NEUROETHICS
Guest Editor: Jens Clausen
Deep brain stimulation is a powerful treatment for motor symptoms in patients suffering from
end-stage Parkinson’s disease. On the one hand, many patients who had no medical option
left benefit enormously from this technological approach. On the other hand, the great power
of brain stimulation also causes side effects, which are sometimes severe. Weighing benefits
against risk is common in every medical intervention. What are the specific risks of DBS?
How should they be weighed against the benefits? Is there anything new in the ethics of this
technological intervention? What can be learned for the ethics of DBS from more familiar
brain interventions like pharmacological treatments?
For DBS electrodes are implanted into deep structures of the brain and stimulation has to be
functionally integrated into neuronal processes. How is the self-concept of the human being as
an embodied being influenced by the incorporation of technological devices into brain
processes? Does chronic stimulation of the brain affect autonomous decision-making? What
would be the consequences of acting under brain stimulation for holding someone responsible
for his/her action?
Although the exact mechanisms of how DBS works are not known, the great successes in
treating motor impairments encourage expanding DBS application to other diseases. Research
on DBS in psychiatric disorders including major depression and obsessive compulsive
disorder are well under way. Even Alzheimer’s, obesity, minimal conscious state and
alcoholism are under discussion as a target for DBS application. Further research directions
are expected. How should one address ethical requirements for the clinical research trials?
Further ideas concerning the ethical implications DBS could have (not mentioned here) are
very welcome. Submit your research online to this forthcoming special issue of Neuroethics!
• Length of the manuscript: approximately 6000 words
• Deadline for submission: 1 May 2010
• Notification of reviewing process: 15 July 2010
• Final Version: 15 August 2010
• Scheduled Publication: Early 2011
For further details and to meet the formal criteria for submission to Springer’s Neuroethics
Journal, it is strongly recommended to visit:
http://www.springer.com/philosophy/ethics/journal/12152
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