Rinsho Shinkeigaku (Clinical Neurology)

The 49th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Neurology

Introduction of neuroethics: Out of clinic, beyond academia in human brain research

Tamami Fukushi, Ph.D.1) and Osamu Sakura, Ph.D.1)2)

1)Research Institute of Science and Technology for Society (RISTEX), Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST)
2)Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies, University of Tokyo

Higher cognitive function in human brain is one of well-developed fields of neuroscience research in the 21st century. Especially functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and near infrared recording system have brought so many non-clinical researchers whose background is such as cognitive psychology, economics, politics, pedagogy, and so on, to the human brain mapping study. Authors have introduced the ethical issues related to incidental findings during the fMRI recording for non-clinical purpose, which is a typical problem derived from such expanded human brain research under non clinical condition, that is, neuroethics. In the present article we would introduce neuroethical issues in contexts of "out of clinic" and "beyond academia".
Full Text of this Article in Japanese PDF (250K)

(CLINICA NEUROL, 48: 952|954, 2008)
key words: neuroethics, neuroimaging, ethical, legal and social implication

(Received: 16-May-08)