A four-part working bibliography of neuroethics: part 1: overview and reviews--defining and describing the field and its practices.

Liana Buniak,James Giordano,Martina Darragh

doi:10.1186/1747-5341-9-9

Abstract

BackgroundNeuroethics entails investigations of neurocognitive mechanisms of morality and ethics; and studies and address of the ethical issues spawned by the use of neuroscience and its technologies to investigate cognition, emotion and actions. These two principal emphases, or what have been called “traditions” of neuroethics both mirror traditional bioethical discussions (such as debates about the safety of technological and pharmaceutical advances and ethical implications of new scientific and technological discoveries), and engage discourse about neuroscientific investigations of (proto-moral and moral) cognition, emotions and behaviors, and what such findings may mean for human beliefs and conduct - from the individual to the political levels.Given the growth, range, and rapid maturation of the field of neuroethics we provide an iterative, four-part document that affords a repository of international papers, books, and chapters that address the field in overview, and present discussion(s) of more particular aspects and topics of neuroethics. This first installment lists reviews and overviews of the discipline, and broad summaries of basic developments and issues of the field.MethodsTo systematically survey the neuroethics literature, searches were performed by accessing 11 databases, 8 additional literature depositories, and 4 individual journal searches using indexing language for National Library of Medicine (NLM) Medical Subject Heading databases. Searches and assurance against overlapping coverage were conducted using the RefWorks citation management program.ResultsOverview, review and reflections upon the history and multicultural perspectives of neuroethics were obtained and relevant listings from international journals, books, and book chapters are provided. Part I will be followed by three installments that will address a): the neuroscience of morality and ethics, including discussions of free will, and personal autonomy; b) “second tradition neuroethics”, to include specific ethical issues in neuroscience; clinical neuroethics; and c) neuroethics education/training; neuroethics and society; neuroethics and law; neuroethics and policy; and international neuroethics.

Highlights

Introduction and backgroundNeuroscience has employed and built upon an existing body of research from the natural, physical and social sciences, as well as the humanities in attempts to establish a comprehensive understanding of the structure and Addressing such difficult questions—and answers—is the basis of the discipline of neuroethics
These two principal emphases, or what have been called “traditions” of neuroethics both mirror traditional bioethical discussions and directly engage neuroscientific investigations of cognition, emotions and behaviors, and philosophical, ethical and legal reflections upon what such findings may mean for human beliefs and conduct - from the individual to the political levels
We provide an iterative, four-part document that affords a repository of international papers, books, and chapters that address the field in overview, and present discussion(s) of more particular aspects and topics of neuroethics

Summary

Introduction

Introduction and backgroundNeuroscience has employed and built upon an existing body of research from the natural, physical and social sciences, as well as the humanities in attempts to establish a comprehensive understanding of the structure and Addressing such difficult questions—and answers—is the basis of the discipline of neuroethics. Re-appropriating Roskies’ definition, neuroethics entails investigations of neurocognitive mechanisms of morality and ethics; and studies and address of the ethical issues spawned by the use of neuroscience and its technologies to investigate cognition, emotion and actions These two principal emphases, or what have been called “traditions” of neuroethics both mirror traditional bioethical discussions (such as debates about the safety of technological and pharmaceutical advances and ethical implications of new scientific and technological discoveries) and directly engage neuroscientific investigations of (protomoral and moral) cognition, emotions and behaviors, and philosophical, ethical and legal reflections upon what such findings may mean for human beliefs and conduct - from the individual to the political levels. This first installment lists reviews and overviews of the discipline, and broad summaries of basic developments and issues of the field

Methods

Results

Conclusion