neuroethics
n. a rapidly growing subdiscipline of bioethics that focuses on the moral, social, and public policy implications of conducting neuroscience research and of translating the findings into clinical practice. The explosive increase in knowledge about the biology of human behavior, cognition, and emotion and the growing ability to monitor and even intervene in their functioning—through the use of brain imaging, psychopharmacology, neurosurgery, and other advanced techniques—have led not only to new diagnostic capabilities and therapeutic innovations but also to numerous concerns. These include issues relating to informed consent; personal responsibility; free will; conceptions of health and well-being; and predictions of disease, behavior, and other factors. For example, transcranial magnetic stimulation shows promise for treating certain movement and psychological disorders but could also potentially be used for
nontherapeutic purposes, such as cognitive enhancement to directly manipulate attention, memory, mood, or other psychological capacities to make a “better” brain. See also neurolaw.