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Ethical, Social and Economic Implications

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Ethical, Social and Economic Implications

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Can aid the economy by increasing sales .

The Nuffield Trust (2014) - since the financial crisis started in 2008, there has been an increase in the amount of prescribed antidepressants. Also noted a rise in antidepressant usage in areas with higher unemployment rates.

Thomas and Morris (2003) - the total cost of depression in adults in England was£9.1 billion in 2000.

Alzheimer’s Research UK- the cost to the UK economy of treating dementia is £23 billion per year.

Neurosciences who help treat/cure these illnesses could save the UK billions of pounds.

Neuroscienctists have a responsibility to ensure that the societies where they work are aware of the implications.

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Although accessing information about consumer behaviour preferences is not new due to loyalty cards and analysing browsing methods, neuromarketing has access to our inner thoughts.

Wilson et al (2008) - commercial integration of neuromarketing research will let advertiser deliver individualised messages to manipulate our free will- removes our ability to make informed decisions about purchases

Neuromarketing firms don’t have to oblige by ethical codes of practice

Nelson (2008) - 5% of the brain scans recoded by marketing firms produced ‘incidental’ findings. - example : researchers might see evidence of a problem in a person’s brain function however as they are not ‘board-certified’ they aren’t obliged to follow ethical protocols such as advising the individual.

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Cohen Kadosh et al - ethical limitations to TDCS (Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation) technology. No training or licensing for practitioners - could lead to poorly qualified  clinicians administering ineffective treatments or causing brian damage to patients

TDCS apparatus is not available to everyone - nt fair to let some individuals benefit from something that to everyone has access to.

Are neuroenhancing technologies the same as performing enhancing drugs in sport?

Could be potentially dangerous when used on brains that are still developing.

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Even if there is a neurological basis to criminal behaviour, people are questioning whether it is acceptable to make it compulsory to treat prisoners with 'drug' treatment.

Martha Farah (2004)- if courts use neurological interventions (eg. drug therapy), it removes the idea of individual free will, eg. the freedom to have your own personality and to think your own thoughts.

A court may offer a convicted criminal the choice of prison or medical help. The criminal is left with little choice about medication - implicit coercion.

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If a patient is in a permanent vegetative state it is extremely unlikely, but not impossible, for them to recover and return to a somewhat normal life. However, research shows that after 12 months nutrition is withdrawn for most patients because it is seen as un-beneficial to prolong life. There is a lot of evidence showing that some people take years to come out of a vegetative state, therefore ending a life when we haven’t got a definitive answer isn't ethical.

A 22 year old student named Maggie had a blood clot in her brain that led her to have a stroke. After this she was put into a deep coma, her mother was approached by various doctors who suggested she make the decision to turn her daughters life support off & decide whether or not to donate her daughters organs. Maggie came out of her coma & doctors then diagnosed her as vegetated. So she was taken off a rehabilitation programme. It was later discovered that she was minimally conscious & had been misdiagnosed. This proves that we don't have enough evidence to back theories such as Crick & Koch’s; and medical staff who have the responsibility to keep a patient alive are not doing their jobs properly. Therefore using neuroscience as a way of controlling recovery from a lack of consciousness is unethical.

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Neuroscience has been applied in the world of advertising and marketing - ‘neurotransmitters’

We may not give our true opinions because we want to appear in a good light when interviews by market researchers.

Social desirability bias can be avoided using eye tracking equipment which provides obnkechibe evidence of what catches a persons eye when shopping or watching adverts.

EEG can be used to analyses neurological responses.

Sands Research- used the technique to developed the highly successful advert ‘The force’ Volkswagen’ . Doug Van Praet part of the creative team notes that it contribute to a hugely successful sales year for the brand.

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Cohen Kadosh et al (2012) - Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (TDCS)- passes a smal electrical current through parts of the brain. Found that is leads to improvements on problem-solving and maths/language/memory/attention capabilities.

Students could use TDCS in preparation for exams

Many students already use neuroenhancement when they use caffeine based drinks to block adenosine receptions in the brain and are therefor emote alert to revise.

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Some people believe that criminal behaviour stems from abnormal levels of specific neurotransmitters- if true criminals could be treated with drugs.

Cherek et al (2002) - investigated aggression levels in men with conduct disorder and previous criminal behaviour. Half were given paroxetine (an SSRI antidepressant) and the other half, a placebo, for 21 days. Those given paroxetine showed a major decrease in impulsive responses and agressive behaviour.

Therefore, offering drug treatments to criminals could make society safer.

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Crick and Koch (1998) - propose that the claustrum ( a thin sheet of neurons in the centre of the brain) combines information from different brain regions and is therefore the ‘seat of consciousness’

Koubeissi et al (2014)- a 54 year old woman that suffered from severe epilepsy was park of research that found that when an electrode placed close to the claustrum was stimulated, the woman stared blankly and stopped responding to audio or visuals. When the stimulation stopped, she regained consciousness but could’t recall what had happened. This was repeated with identical results.

Could help us make decisions about people who are in a persistent vegetative state - the decision to end a life could be based on their level of consciouness

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Neuroscience is Ethical - Green
Neuroscience isn’t Ethical - Red