INTERNATIONAL NEUROETHICS SOCIETY
|
|
Updated Venue for the Neurotech Conference
|
|
Wymilwood Lounge
Goldring Student Centre
Victoria University in the University of Toronto
150 Charles Street West
Toronto, ON M5S 1K9
Check out the
program
and register today!
|
|
Cannabinoids and the Brain
Research into the medical benefits of cannabis is a hot topic now, so the panel discussion at the University of Cambridge on
Cannabinoids and the Brain
was timely and well-attended on May 2. It was hosted by CamBRAIN, the University’s society for young neuroscientists.
Until recently, it was almost impossible to get funding for research, but highly-publicized stories of children treated with cannabis oil for severe epilepsy have helped shifted attitudes. However, there is still a good deal of confusion about cannabinoids, the medical use of cannabis, and the law.
The speakers, David Potter, GW Pharmaceuticals, Yewande Okuleye, formerly a biochemist at Body Shop, Sagnik Bhattacharyya, King’s College London and Priya Devendran, Anglia Ruskin University, described a comprehensive scope of research, the therapeutic potential of cannabinoids, clinical care and psychiatry, and policy and regulation. The session was chaired by Elaine Snell, Chief Operating Officer of the INS.
|
|
Elaine Snell, Yewande Okuleye, Sagnik Bhattacharyya,
Priya Devendran, and David Potter, left to right
|
|
May 18-19; London, UK
May 21; Vancouver, Canada – This panel with explore how artificial intelligence responds to various ethical situations. As AI and robots start making more complex decisions, how do they consider morals, ethics, and doing the right thin? From mass surveillance and military applications to making a financial recommendation for your retirement, each interaction has a point of view. Thus, how will machines make a good decision in a no-win situation?
|
|
May 23; Webinar – The American Brain Coalition and INS have organized a webinar on the important social, legal, ethical and policy implications of advances in neuroscience. Speakers include Paul Root Wolpe, Emory Center for Ethics, and Diana Shineman, Tourette Association of America, along with moderator Matthew Rizzo.
Dementia Care: Moral Theory and Practical Challenges
May 29-30; Sydney, Australia – Macquarie University's Research Centre for Agency, Values and Ethics invites you to a two-day workshop bringing together scholars from different fields of research such as philosophy and applied ethics, legal studies, clinical medicine, and cognitive sciences. Participants will discuss various topics on how moral theories deal with practical challenges in the context of dementia care. This workshop is free, but space is limited. Register by sending an email to
hojjat.soofi@hdr.mq.edu.au.
|
|
June 5; Toronto, Canada – INS members get a 20% discount!
|
|
June 13; Milwaukee, WI, USA
|
|
June 19-21; Paris, France
September 7-10; Copenhagen, Denmark;
The future of CNS treatments
September 21-25; Daegu, Korea
September 26-27; Graz, Austria
October 3-5; Athens, Greece
|
|
Call for Comments
– The BRAIN Neuroethics Subgroup has conducted a portfolio review, held a public workshop on neuroethical issues posed by research through the BRAIN Initiative, and is now welcoming comments from the public on draft findings and analysis detailed in the
Neuroethics Roadmap
.
Comments due by Monday, May 20.
|
|
Assistant Professors – The Technical University of Eindhoven in The Netherlands is seeking candidates for assistant professor positions in
Ethics and
Philosophy of Science and Technology programs. These are proper faculty positions with an expectation that the employee achieves tenure; promotion to associate and full professor is possible.
The deadline to apply is Friday, May 17.
|
|
PhD Candidate – The Center for Ethics at the University of Zurich is seeking a PhD candidate for a funded position regarding the interdisciplinary SNF project titled 'Reading Guilty Minds.'
The deadline to apply is Monday, May 20.
|
|
Call for Chapter Submissions
–
The Anticipatory Biomedical Ethics of The Use of CRISPR in Humans (Springer); Contact Dr. Nestor (
mnestor@hussmanautism.org).
|
|
PhD Position – The University of British Columbia, Department of Medicine – Neurology; Vancouver, Canada
|
|
Share your organization's open positions, calls, and other opportunities with INS members and the neuroethics community. Submit to staff for consideration (administrator@neuroethicssociety.org).
|
|
Neuroethics, Justice and Autonomy: Public Reason in Cognitive Enhancement Debate – INS Member Veljko Dubljević, NC State University, addresses policy options in a democratic society regarding cognitive enhancement drugs and devices by a in-depth case by case analysis of existing and emerging cognitive neuroenhancement technologies and canvasses a distinct political neuroethics approach. He argues the necessity of a laws and regulations regarding the use of cognitive enhancers and that the funds for those who seek cognitive enhancement should be allocated from of charge to the least advantaged. His work also argues that the notion of autonomy has been mistakenly associated with the metaphysical concept of free well, and offers a political definition of autonomy to clarify how responsibility is implicitly grounded in the legal and political system. Read a
Q&A with the author from NC State. – Veljko Dubljević (Springer)
|
|
Shaping Children: Ethical & Social Questions that Arise When Enhancing the Young – Edited by Saskia Nagel, t
he volume offers a unique collection of articles on pediatric neuroenhancement from an international and multidisciplinary perspective. While autonomous adults are free to choose neuroenhancement, in children it presents its own ethical, social, legal, and developmental issues. A plethora of potential (neurotechnological) enhancement agents are on the market. While the manifold issues surrounding the topic have been extensively discussed, there is little work on the specific questions that arise in children and adolescents. This book addresses this gap in the literature. – Edited by Saskia Nagel (Springer)
|
|
Photo at right showing the use of a mobile device to adjust the settings of an implanted deep brain stimulation device.
|
|
The Birth-Tissue Profiteers – 'How well-meaning donations end up fuelling an unproven, virtually unregulated two-billion-dollar stem-cell industry.' – Caroline Chen (The New Yorker) (Illustration at right by Ben Jones)
|
|
Did you publish a paper or attend an event that your neuroethics colleagues should know about? Send us a link, summary, or reflection article and we'll share with your neuroethics colleagues. Submit to staff for consideration (administrator@neuroethicssociety.org).
|
|
This newsletter is distributed to members of the
International Neuroethics Society
. Become a
member
and join our growing group of scholars, scientists, clinicians, students and other professionals who encourage and inspire research and dialogue on the responsible use of advances in brain science.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
