Nino Kapanadze

February 13, 2017

EST 201

Neuroscience in Relation to Ethics, Technology and

Society
My desired field of choice is psychology due to the fact that I love studying science of the mind.

Exploring the connections between the brain and human behavior has to be one of the most

exciting things Ive ever had a chance of learning. The topic of my choice is neuroscience

because it plays a critical role in the three themes mentioned ethics, technology and society.

Through in-depth Neuroscience, one can understand how our senses effect memory, how

chemicals influence neural activity, and how brain scans are used to determine psychological

disorders.

Researchers in neuroscience are constantly discovering new findings in brain activities.

The fast growth leads to questions pertaining to ethics. The relationship between neuroscience

and ethics is significant and therefore a new branch of neuroscience emerged neuroethics.

Neuroethics is a field that concentrates on the effects of neuroscience for human self-

understanding, ethics, and policy. The three main topics that bring up the ethics questions are

neuro-imaging, pharmacological brain enhancement and new technical involvements in the

brain. Neuroimaging is a procedure that develops images of the structure or activity of the brain

or some other part of the nervous system. Some of the ethical issues vary from the construction

of an individual sense of stigma to discrimination in health exposure or employment. If

researchers decide to make neuroimaging more advanced than it already is, it is important to

discuss what constitutes for a morally and socially acceptable research topics. Another ethical

issue in neuroimaging is predictive neuroimaging. Patients are being diagnosed by magnetic

resonance imaging to tell whether or not the patient is at a high risk of schizophrenia. The

positive and the negative effects of this would have to be carefully examined and there would

need to be a discussion on discriminations it can bring about. The third ethical issue is privacy.

The second topic is brain enhancement and the major ethical issue with this is safety.
Undergoing neurocognitive enhancement means there are no expected consequences and there

might be long-term side effects. Another ethical issue is competition and how the society would

react toward improving ones cognitive skills. Study on brain enrichment brings up topics like

mind control, hybrid brains and cyborgs (Fuchs, 2006).

The combination of science and technology is promoting development for the marketing

technology category (Drenik, 2015). The technology known as the electrocorticography, or

ECoG uses electrodes that are positioned on the surface of the brain to identify electrical signals.

Apparently, ECoG has been used since the 1950s but in the past years, scientists discovered that

when it is linked to a computer, it can be used to regulate robotic arms, analyze how the brain

creates speech and decipher thoughts (Hamilton, 2011). Another new invention could assist

neuroscientists in determining how dopamine in fact impacts brain activity. There are new

sensors that can oversee dopamine secretion in a single neuron. On the other hand, researchers at

Max Planch Florida Institute for Neuroscience created latest software that studies synaptic

plasticity in dendritic spines. Another very exciting invention is the ability to control a prosthetic

arm. Scientists were able to discover a robotic prosthetic arm that detects signals from nerves in

the spinal cord. The individual just has to think about controlling the arm and has to imagine

moves. There is also a computerized mirror game that has a better chance of identifying

schizophrenia than individual interviews. In this mirror game, volunteers are asked to execute

movements on their own and then mirror some movements seen on the computer. At Harvard

University and Boston Childrens Hospital, researchers developed a soft robotic sleeve that

connects directly around the heart in order to support it beat. This invention helps pave way for

more soft robotics that can be useful in clinical needs. As you can see, technology in

neuroscience plays a huge role in helping the field of study become more advanced in society.
There are brain-controlled prosthetics being developed and new technology that makes brain

implants possible. I believe technology in neuroscience has a huge impact on the society as a

whole. Not only does it benefit the individuals who are in need of advanced technology but it

also makes the society a better and a stronger place to live.

As you may already know, neuropsychiatric disorders are very costly to both the society

and the governments. There is a huge demand for cognitive improvement by not only

prescription users but also by healthy people. These drugs that are being talked about vary from

acetylcholine to serotonin, glutamate, noradrenaline and dopamine. Neuropsychiatric disorders

have an impact on the function and well-being of an individual and it also places an economic

problem on society. It is important to not only take in account the cost of the treatments but to

also analyze the indirect sots like lost income and efficiency. Therefore, these cognitive

enhancing drugs are truly needed so there isnt a decrease of the costs of these disorders for

society and governments. Another issue is Alzheimers disease; however, early valuation and

successful treatment with drugs intended at refining cognitive function can reduce the direct

costs per patient and indirect cost savings. Some other problems are Parkinsons disease,

attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and schizophrenia. Cognitive remediation treatments for

schizophrenia have an outcome in enhancements in cognition, symptoms and psychosocial

function. From 2007 to 2013, there has been a 56% increase in prescriptions for amphetamine,

methylphenidate and modafinil. In various studied conducted, methylphenidate enhanced

personal feelings of energy and restlessness in sleep-deprived persons. Modafinil developed

working memory, preparation, decision making and elasticity without the side effects of tremble

and anxiety. In regards to atomoxetine, research is still continuing (Sahakian, 2015). These

experiments conclude that smart drugs and devices have the ability to assist healthy people. The
number of healthy users who use these prescription drugs are unknown. Many students take

advantage of cognitive enhancing drugs to have a better chance at better grades. In conclusion,

there is a large population with neuropsychiatric disorders that can profit from these kinds of

drugs. It would be beneficial to acquire many advantages from these drugs with the least amount

of harm caused. It is important for scientists to collaborate and for pharmaceutical companies

and governmental regulators to cultivate better properties.

Neuroscience plays an enormous part in psychology the two are almost combined.

Variations in brain structure and action have been known to effect behavior. Researchers have

undergone trials where deducing mental processes from the brain activity were proven to be

possible. Neuroscience has very strong relations to ethics, technology and society. It is an

important component to the world we live in and without neuroscience, people would be in

detrimental shape.
 References

1. Fuchs, T. (2006). Ethical Issues in Neuroscience. Retrieved from

http://www.antoniocasella.eu/dnlaw/Fuchs_2006.pdf

2. Hamilton, J. (2011, May 12). Mind Reading: Technology Turns Thought Into Action.
Retrieved February 13, 2017, from http://www.npr.org/2011/05/12/135598390/mind-
reading-technology-turns-thought-into-action

3. Illes, J. (1970, January 01). Neuroethics in a New Era of Neuroimaging. Retrieved

February 13, 2017, from http://www.ajnr.org/content/24/9/1739.full

4. Markowitsch, H. J. (2016). Psychological science can no longer neglect neuroscience:

Comment on Klein (2016). Psychology Of Consciousness: Theory, Research, And
Practice, 3(4), 382-386. doi:10.1037/cns0000103

5. Technology. (n.d.). Retrieved February 13, 2017, from

http://neurosciencenews.com/neuroscience-terms/technology/

6. The impact of neuroscience on society: cognitive enhancement in neuropsychiatric

disorders and in healthy people. (n.d.). Retrieved February 13, 2017, from
http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/370/1677/20140214#sec-14