2002 Ethical issues in human experimentation Marlene Behrmann Department of Psychology, CMU and Department of Neuroscience, Pitt

2002 Bioethics Awesome advance of biomedical research –Both experimental/basic –And clinical Originally problems more in medical ethics –Abortion –Euthanasia –Reproductive technologies

2002 Human experimentation Set of scientific activities the primary purpose of which is to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge about the chemical, physiological or psychological processes involved in human functioning Called ‘human experimentation’ because uses humans as subjects Therapeutic research versus nontherapeutic research

2002 Policy to regulate research practices Nuremberg code –Developed by Allies after WW2 –Standards against which to judge Nazis –Silent regarding informed consent if incompetent Declaration of Helsinki (1964) –Beyond Nuremberg code »Differentiates clinical versus nonclinical research »Proxy consent »Primary emphasis on medical/clinical

2002 Major issues Research as moral imperative? Informed consent Who should be a research subject? Paying research subjects

2002 Research as moral imperative? –Usually utilitarian: improve treatment and techniques –Benefited from previous research; must continue »Deontological –Indispensible to progress »Health as a public good »Science is an instrument of progress

2002 Informed consent –Principle of respect –Autonomy –Competence –Coercion? –Who can consent?

2002 Who should be a research subject? –Volunteers in scientific community –Only what researcher would do him/herself –Economically and socially disadvantaged, children, prisoners

2002 Paying research subjects Pay for their costs No undue inducement –Set payment low so no coercion –Reflect the nature of the risk: how assess this? »When is too much risk? –What about patients? –fMRI studies? –Differs among labs and sets up competition Some argue that it is paternalistic

2002 Neuroethics Ethical issues in enhancement –Gingko biloba, prozac (SSRI), ritalin Court-ordered CNS intervention –Aggressive behavior -> SSRI, fluoxetine –Sex offenders subject to pharmacological treatment Mind reading –Can classify some by scans (introversion vs extroversion) –Drug-free addicts show strong PET activation in amygdala, anterior cingulate and orbitofrontal cortex to paraphernalia

2002 Other longstanding issues How safe are new methods –High res fMRI, TMS What is the course of action when an abnormality is detected on imaging? How much should one divulge to a subject? What considerations guide new therapies for diseases such as Parkinsons? –Fetal transplant? Genetic testing for Huntington’s disease? Ethics of psychosurgery?

2002 References Blank, R. H. (1999). Brain policy: how the new neuroscience will change our lives and our politics. Georgetown University Press, Washington, DC. Fukuyama, F. (2002). Our posthuman future. Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, NY. Farah, M. J. (2002). Emerging ethical issues in neuroscience. Nature Neuroscience, 5, 11,