How can we prevent the misuse of discoveries about the brain, such as those that suggest how learning and cognition might be enhanced?
A. Ethical use and application of neuroscience findings is a growing concern, particularly as scientists come closer to understanding how brain learns and how learning might be enhanced pharmacologically. Should we use these new understandings to boost learning in average person? What's to stop college students looking to ace their final exams from using drugs developed to treat attention deficit disorders, or in future, medications designed to enhance memory in people with Alzheimer's?
"Neuroethical" questions take on new urgency as neuroscience research moves forward. Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives is a leader in a global effort to convene top experts in neuroscience, law, bioethics, and policy-making to bring such questions to forefront of public debate. The purpose is to begin to set standards and form basic guidelines which will enable society to respond appropriately to the ethical ramifications of new knowledge about brain.