Neuroethics & Law Blog

Our 6th Blogiversary!

I'm pleased to report that the Neuroethics & Law Blog turns six years old today.  Before long, we'll be nostalgic about the "early days" of neuroethics.

If you are a scholar or graduate student who writes in the field of neuroethics (or a related area) and are interested in guest blogging, send me an email about yourself, along with the month (between now and six months from now) that you are interested in guest blogging.  Guests should plan to write 1-2 posts per week for the duration of their visit.

PEBS Neuroethics Roundup from JHU Guest Blogger

Last Edition's Most Popular Article: Fear-Conditioning Mechanisms Associated with Trait Vulnerability to Anxiety in Humans, Neuron Videos: Monkeys ‘display self-doubt’ like humans, BBC News Player’s text: Send my brain to NFL research bank, CNN The Chart         Thought-controlled wheelchairs and bionics that ‘feel’, BBC            German researchers drive car with their minds, Jalopnik In The Popular Press: The Threatening Scent of Fertile Women, New York Times Want more pain relief? Think positive, New Scientist Study links brain with white-collar crime, The Independent Ecstasy does not wreck the mind, study claims, Guardian My Puny Human Brain, Slate Understanding the Brain’s “Brake Pedal” in Neural Plasticity, Scientific American The Claim: A Fake Smile Can be Bad for Your Health, New York Times Bedazzled Neurons, Dean’s Corner The Real Avatar: Swiss Researchers Use Virtual Reality and Brain Imaging to Hunt for the Science of Self, Science Daily Child brain scans to pick out future criminals, The Telegraph Drug relapse brain region found in rats, BBC News Alzheimer’s Study: Bilingual Brains Are Dementia-Resistant, Discover Blogs 80beats When Photos Are Painkillers, Scientific American   Brains of Blind People Reading in Braille Show Activity in Same Area That Lights Up When Sighted Readers Read, Science Daily Is FDA Device Exemption for Deep Brain Stimulation Being Misused?, Medscape Deep Brain Stimulation Helps Severe OCD, but Pioneer Advises Caution, Science Daily From the Academic Literature: Moral enhancement and pro-social behavior, Journal of Medical Ethics Synaptic potentiation onto habenula neurons in the learned helplessness model of depression, Nature Psychiatry: A molecular shield from trauma, Nature Transgenic elimination of high-affinity antidepressant and cocaine sensitivity in the presynaptic serotonin transporter, PNAS A mouse model to address unresolved antidepressant issues, PNAS Slow integration leads to persistent action potential firing in distal axons of coupled interneurons, Nature Neuroscience An optogenetic toolbox designed for primates, Nature Neuroscience A reservoir of time constants for memory traces in cortical neurons, Nature Neuroscience Learning the microstructure of successful behavior, Nature Neuroscience Temporal Discounting: The Differential Effect of Proximal and Distal Consequences of Confession Decisions, Law and Human Behavior Addiction: Knowing when to stop, Nature Reviews Neuroscience A Ventral Visual Stream Reading Center Independent of Visual Experience, Current Biology Convergent Processing of Both Positive and Negative Motivational Signals by the VTA Dopamine Neuronal Populations, PLoSONE

Subscribe to our mailing list The Program in Ethics and Brain Sciences (PEBS) is a collaborative effort of the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics and the  Johns Hopkins Brain Sciences Institute . The goal of PEBS is to ensure that research in brain science proceeds with an informed understanding of ethical issues, and that philosophical and empirical analyses of the advances in brain research proceed with an informed understanding of the science.

Are Locked-In People Happy?

New Scientist has a very interesting description of recent research on the happiness levels of patients with locked-in syndrome.  The title of the article is "Most 'locked-in' people are happy survey finds."  In addition to having a non-random sample, though, the following sentences put some pressure on the happiness claim:

However, not all the respondents were satisfied. The remaining 28 per cent expressed unhappiness with their situation, and of these, 86 per cent said they'd prefer not to be resuscitated after a heart attack, compared with just under half of the "happy" respondents.

"Responsibility for Addiction"

Recently posted to SSRN:

"Responsibility for Addiction" 

RICHARD J. BONNIE, University of Virginia - School of Law
Email: [email protected]

Taking as its starting point the characterization of addiction as a "brain disease" by the nation’s leadership in public health and biomedical science, this paper explores the implications of recent developments in neuroscience for the concept of responsibility. The terrain is divided into three parts: responsibility for becoming addicted; responsibility for behavior symptomatic of addiction; and responsibility for amelioration of addiction. In general, the paper defends the thesis that recent scientific developments have sharpened but not erased traditional understandings in the first two areas, while recent legal developments have exposed new and intriguing theories of responsibility for managing.

Brain Structure and White Collar Criminals

Here's a story about not-yet-published research finding structural differences in the brains of white collar criminals relative to similar non-criminal controls.  Apparently, this is an Adrian Raine project, though the story is short on details.

(via White Collar Crime Prof Blog) 

Neuroethics Roundup from JHU Guest Blogger

Last Edition's Most Popular Article: What is Artificial Intelligence?, New York Times In The Popular Press: No Soul? I Can Live with That. No Free Will? AHHHHH!!!, Psychology Today V.S. Ramachandran's Tales Of The 'Tell-Tale Brain', NPR Did a Reporter Have a Stroke on TV?, New York Times Well Blog Antidepressants Don’t Work…In Fish, Neuroskeptic Your Brain in Love, Scientific American Does Social Anxiety Disorder Respond to Psychotherapy? Brain Study Says Yes, Science Daily The neuroscience of True Grit, Scientific American This is your brain on stress, Spoonful of Medicine Crush Your Friends with Your Mental Powers Using Mindflex Duel, Gizmodo Knocking Out a "Dumb" Gene Boosts Memory in Mice, Scientific American Do snails dream of slime-covered sheep?, New Scientist Convincing evidence: Our wills aren’t as free as we (or I) would like to think, Cross Check ‘Sacred’ rules of engagement defeat rationality in war, New Scientist JPEG for the Mind: How the Brain Compresses Visual Information, Science Daily World’s Total CPU Power: One Human Brain, Wired Science From the Academic Literature: Brain-state–independent neural representation of peripheral stimulation in rat olfactory bulb, PNAS Fear-Conditioning Mechanisms Associated with Trait Vulnerability to Anxiety in Humans, Neuron   Sing the mind electric – principles of deep brain stimulation, European Journal of Neuroscience Ethical brain stimulation – neuroethics of deep brain stimulation in research and clinical practice, European Journal of Neuroscience Sing the mind electric-principles of deep brain stimulation, European Journal of Neuroscience The protective effects of helmets in skiers and snowboarders, BMJ Vangl2 Promotes Wnt/Planar Cell Polarity-like Signaling by Antagonizing Dvl1-Mediated Feedback Inhibition in Growth Cone Guidance, Developmental Cell

Subscribe to our mailing list The Program in Ethics and Brain Sciences (PEBS) is a collaborative effort of the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics and the  Johns Hopkins Brain Sciences Institute . The goal of PEBS is to ensure that research in brain science proceeds with an informed understanding of ethical issues, and that philosophical and empirical analyses of the advances in brain research proceed with an informed understanding of the science.

 

"Emotion, Neuroscience, and Law: A Comment on Darwin and Greene"

Recently posted to SSRN:

Emotion, Neuroscience, and Law: A Comment on Darwin and Greene

John Mikhail
Georgetown University Law Center
Emotion Review, Forthcoming

Abstract:     
Darwin’s (1871) observation that evolution has produced in us certain emotions responding to right and wrong conduct that lack any obvious basis in individual utility is a useful springboard from which to clarify the role of emotion in moral judgment. The problem is whether a certain class of moral judgments is “constituted” or “driven by” emotion (Greene 2008, p. 108) or merely correlated with emotion while being generated by unconscious computations (e.g., Huebner et al. 2008). With one exception, all of the “personal” vignettes devised by Greene and colleagues (2001, 2004) and subsequently used by other researchers (e.g., Koenigs et al. 2007) in their fMRI and behavioral studies of emotional engagement in moral judgment involve violent crimes or torts. These studies thus do much more than highlight the role of emotion in moral judgment; they also support the classical rationalist thesis that moral rules are engraved in the mind.

2011 Law & Science Young Scholars Informal Symposium and Prize

More information about the symposium and the prize described below (including prize money) can be found here:

****************************************************************************************************

The EUROPEAN CENTER FOR LAW, SCIENCE AND NEW TECHNOLOGIES (ECLT),
Università degli studi di Pavia and
The ISTITUTO UNIVERSITARIO DI STUDI SUPERIORI di Pavia (IUSS).

 In cooperation with COLLEGIO GHISLIERI (Pavia) and FONDAZIONE MAUGERI, are organizing the

 2011 Law&Science Young Scholars informal Symposium

Aim
The Symposium aims to create a forum for post-graduate scholars, PHD students and early-career researchers working in the area of Law and Science (in special cases applications from final-year undergraduate students can be considered). It will provide participants with an opportunity to present and discuss their research with senior researchers of the Law Science community in a constructive and friendly atmosphere.

Prize
The two best papers will be awarded a

Fondazione Maugeri Prize
2011 Law&Science Young Scholar

"Doctors work to help Giffords' brain rewire itself"

Article here.  The piece begins:

Compared to a sleek new laptop, that three-pound mass of fatty tissue called the brain may not look like much. But when it's injured, it adapts and rewires its circuits in new ways.

That's the kind of flexibility that doctors and rehabilitation specialists hope to encourage in Gabrielle Giffords, the brain-injured Arizona congresswoman.

I find the first two sentences amusing.  First, would neuroscientists describe the brain as a mass of fatty tissue?  Second, the article suggests that we tend to think our brains are second-rate relative to "a sleek new laptop."  Is this just a peculiar introduction to an article or do people really think that way about computers and human brains?  I would think that we're still far more in awe of our versatile brains than our laptop computers. 

Let's see how tonight's Jeopardy! matchup affects public opinion... 

"Artificial Retina Helps Some Blind People"

Story here.

Law and Memory Conference at Stanford

Hank Greely has posted a "save the date" for an April 1, 2011 conference at Stanford Law School on law and memory.  The conference is organized by Hank, Nita Farahany, Anthony Wagner, and Jesse Rissman.  In addition to the organizers, speakers include Felipe Fregni, Kevin LaBar, Elizabeth Loftus, James McGaugh, Peter Rosenfeld, Joel Voss, Carter Snead, Bill Solmer, and me.  Here's the link.

PEBS Neuroethics Roundup from JHU Guest Blogger

Last Edition's Most Popular Article: Brain Pacemakers: A Long-Lasting Solution in the Fight Against Depression?, Science Daily In The Popular Press: What is Artificial Intelligence?, New York Times Many get antidepressants for no psychiatric reason, Reuters (Video) Study: Math Skills Rely on Language, Not Just Logic, Wired Science What’s That Robot Looking At?, Scientific American Forgiveness via iPhone: Church approves confession app, New Scientist The more you lie, the easier it gets, New Scientist Numbers Need Language to Make Sense in Our Minds, Discover Brain’s ‘constant gardner’ discovered. New Scientist Brain’s ‘Radio Stations’ Have Much to Tell Scientist, Science Daily FDA expedites review of robotic arm, Los Angeles Times 20 TED talks about the brain, Neuroethics at the Core Chimps thinking about thinking, Neuroethics at the Core From the Annals of the Strange: Dog Telepathy, The Thoughtful Animal Talking Your Brain for a Walk, The New York Times From the Academic Literature: Long-term Antipsychotic Treatment and Brain Volumes, Archives of General Psychiatry Cortical representations of olfactory input by transsynaptic tracing, Nature Functional identification of an aggression locus in the mouse hypothalamus, Nature Testosterone administration impairs cognitive empathy in women depending on second-to-fourth digit ratio, PNAS Crocodile Tears: Facial, Verbal and Body Language Behaviours Associated with Genuine and Fabricated Remorse, Law and Human Behavior

Subscribe to our mailing list The Program in Ethics and Brain Sciences (PEBS) is a collaborative effort of the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics and the  Johns Hopkins Brain Sciences Institute . The goal of PEBS is to ensure that research in brain science proceeds with an informed understanding of ethical issues, and that philosophical and empirical analyses of the advances in brain research proceed with an informed understanding of the science.

"Technologies on the Stand: Legal and Ethical Questions in Neuroscience and Robotics"

I'm told that registration has begun for the conference below.  If you have further questions, see the contact information at the bottom of the blog post: 

TILTing Perspectives 2011

TECHNOLOGIES ON THE STAND: LEGAL AND ETHICAL QUESTIONS IN NEUROSCIENCE AND ROBOTICS

 A two-day international conference organised by the Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology and Society (TILT)

 Conference details

• Dates: 11 and 12 April 2011
• Location: Tilburg University Campus, Tilburg, the Netherlands
• Registration: NOW OPEN, please click here, or surf to https://conference.uvt.nl/tilting2011/

 Conference Theme and Overview

On behalf of Tilburg University the Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology and Society (TILT) is proud to invite you to its biannual international conference. This year the conference theme is

Technologies on the Stand: Legal and Ethical Issues in Neuroscience and Robotics.

 At present, neurotechnologies such as functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Deep Brain Stimulation are mainly used in the health sector for research, diagnosis and therapy. But neurotechnologies could also be used for human enhancement, for instance to improve cognitive functions. Moreover, insights from neuroscience are increasingly used for legal purposes, for instance to determine a suspect's responsibility for his actions or to distinguish truthful from deceptive statements. These three domains of application raise different important ethical and legal questions that require further discussion.
Similarly, the application of robotics and autonomous technologies in various (social) situations – the home, hospital environments, traffic and in war – raises a number of ethical and legal issues. These include questions such as: what are the ethical implications of applying robots in the health sector with regard to our ideas about human dignity and autonomy? What are the consequences of using robotics in war? And can we hold robots liable if they play an ever more important role in our daily lives?

Technologies on the Stand is an international and multidisciplinary conference that will bring together experts from the fields of (1) law and neuroscience and (2) law, ethics and robotics. Five renowned keynote speakers will present their latest research at this conference in plenary sessions. Additionally, over twenty researchers from around the world will present papers in the parallel sessions.

 We cordially invite you to come to Tilburg in April and join us for this inspiring, thought-provoking event!

 Technologies on the Stand is part of TILTing Perspectives, the biannual international conference series organized by the Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology and Society (TILT) at Tilburg University.

 Keynote speakers

• Stephen Morse: University of Pennsylvania
• Paul Wolpe: Emory University
• Wendell Wallach: Yale University
• Noel Sharkey: University of Sheffield
• Mark Coeckelbergh: University of Twente

 Conference fees:*

• Regular participants: 300 euros (registration between 1 December 2010 and 31 March 2011)
• Late registrations: 350 euros (registration after 1 April 2011)
• PhD student fee: 200 euros (throughout the entire registration phase)
• Fee for employees of Tilburg University: 200 euros (throughout the entire registration phase)
• Fee for BA and MA students and alumni: 100 euros (between 1 December 2010 and 31 March 2011); 150 euros for late registrations (after 31 March 2011)
• Fee for members of the scientific committee: 200 euros (throughout the entire registration phase).

 *The conference fee includes a copy of the conference proceedings, coffee, tea, lunches, drinks, and the conference dinner on 11 April 2011.

 Registration

To register for this conference, please use the registration system
On completion of the registration Tilburg University will send you a bill, which you can pay using a bank transfer. All registrations must be payed before the conference starts!!

 More information

• For more information on the conference, please visit the conference website
• The conference proceedings will contain a selection of the papers presented during the conference. They are published by Wolf Legal Publishers and will be available at the conference. Keynote papers and the winning paper in the Best Paper Contest will be published in a special issue of Hart's international journal Law, Innovation and Technology.
• The Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology, and Society (TILT) is a multidisciplinary research institute conducting research into the legal and social implications of various emerging (fields of) technologies, ranging from information and communication technologies, to bio- and nanotechnologies, to neurotechnologies and robotics. A key feature of the institute's research program is the interaction between legal, technological, and social perspectives. For more information, please see the TILT website.
• More questions? You can also contact the conference organisers directly: dr. Laura Klaming: (e-mail Laura) or dr. Bibi van den Berg (e-mail Bibi).

Special Issue of Studies in Ethics, Law and Technology

Here's the link to the content described below:

Berkeley Electronic Press is pleased to announce the following special issue of Studies in Ethics, Law, and Technology.

The Convergence of the Physical, Mental and Virtual

This special issue of SELT is dedicated to state-of-the-art body/brain-machine interfaces and companion robotics. It takes as its point of departure the gap that exists between the visionary work and experimentation undertaken by scientists, and the results of theoretical and practical reflection on issues of ethical, legal and social relevance. We bring together here experimenters, philosophers and ELSA scholars, to describe and explain cutting-edge research and to communicate some of the implications for individual and social well-being. In doing this, we hope to set an example of how radically different disciplines can communicate and complement each other's work.

Guest Editor:
Dr. Kristrún Gunnarsdóttir, Lancaster University, UK

Editorial

The Convergence of the Physical, Mental and Virtual

Kristrun Gunnarsdottir

Articles

Artificial Companions: Empathy and Vulnerability Mirroring in Human-Robot Relations

Mark Coeckelbergh

Brain Gene Transfer and Brain Implants

Rolando Meloni, Jacques Mallet, and Nicole Faucon Biguet

Neuroethical Issues in Neurogenetic and Neuro-Implantation Technology: The Need for Pragmatism and Preparedness in Practice and Policy

James Giordano

Brain-Computer Interaction and Medical Access to the Brain: Individual, Social and Ethical Implications

Elisabeth Hildt

Future Issues with Robots and Cyborgs

Kevin Warwick

Brain-Machine Interfaces and Personal Responsibility for Action – Maybe Not As Complicated After All

Søren Holm and Teck Chuan Voo

New Questions, or Only Old Questions in a New Guise?

Ruth Chadwick

Kevin Warwick’s Experiment 1: Future Identity

Juliet Lodge

A Reply to My Commentators

Kevin Warwick

Dutch "Giant" Denied Prison Accommodation

This morning in the Netherlands, the 6'9'', 500+ pound inmate I discussed earlier here and here was denied further accommodations to his conditions of confinement.  You can also see a drawing of the dimensions of his prison cell (below) made by the inmate's attorney.  There's more information about the case here, but it's in Dutch. 

The author of the piece, Stijn Bronzwaer, has given me the gist of what happened today.  He tells me that, according to the judge, "Angelo M.’s treatment in prison was not proven to be ‘inhumane’. [Prison administrators] did things for him: they adjusted his bed with multiple mattresses, they had a special chair for him and he didn’t have to work like ‘normal’ prisoners do. That was enough, according to the Judge, to make his life in prison more humane. His physical complaints where already there, before he entered prison."

The piece also states that, "professor Gerard de Jonge [of] Maastricht University says the idea that Dutch prisons are ‘luxu[ry] resorts’ is a stereotype. There is a lot of discussion about this here: some people think prison life should be ‘harder’, while UN reports still say there is still a lot wrong with the Dutch prison system. For example: there can be two prisoners in one cell, even though we have too MANY cells here: some prisons are empty."

Of course, the fact that this inmate failed to demonstrate, as a matter of law, that his conditions of confinement are inhumane does not speak directly to the question of whether we ought to consider various sensitivities of prisoners when sentencing or confining them.  Indeed, the inmate in this case already received some accommodations that were, apparently, deemed sufficient.

-AJK

(X-posted.)