Tag: AJOB Neuroscience

Guest editorial from Dr. Laura Cabrera published in ‘AJOB Neuroscience’

Laura Cabrera photo

Assistant Professor Dr. Laura Cabrera is the author of a guest editorial on “The Need for Guidance around Recruitment and Consent Practices in Intracranial Electrophysiology Research,” published in the current issue of AJOB Neuroscience. Dr. Cabrera stresses the importance of the involvement of institutional review boards and funding agencies with regard to study recruitment and participant consent.

The full text is available online via Taylor & Francis Online (MSU Library or other institutional access may be required to view this article).

Dr. Cabrera co-authors commentary in ‘AJOB Neuroscience’ neuroethics issue

Laura Cabrera photoCenter Assistant Professor Dr. Laura Cabrera and Dr. Robyn Bluhm, Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy and Lyman Briggs College, are co-authors of a commentary published in the latest issue of AJOB Neuroscience.

In “Fostering Neuroethics Integration: Disciplines, Methods, and Frameworks,” Drs. Cabrera and Bluhm comment on two papers that are part of the journal’s special issue on the BRAIN 2.0 Neuroethics roadmap.

Drs. Cabrera and Bluhm are co-investigators on an ongoing NIH BRAIN Initiative project,
“Is the Treatment Perceived to be Worse than the Disease?: Ethical Concerns and Attitudes towards Psychiatric Electroceutical Interventions.”

The full text is available online via Taylor & Francis Online (MSU Library or other institutional access may be required to view this article).

International Neuroethics Society on “Neuroethics at 15”

Laura Cabrera photoThe International Neuroethics Society (INS) Emerging Issues Task Force has a new article in AJOB Neuroscience on “Neuroethics at 15: The Current and Future Environment for Neuroethics.” Center Assistant Professor Dr. Laura Cabrera is a member of the task force, which advises INS by providing expertise, analysis, and guidance for a number of different audiences.

Abstract: Neuroethics research and scholarship intersect with dynamic academic disciplines in science, engineering, and the humanities. On the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the formation of the International Neuroethics Society, we identify current and future topics for neuroethics and discuss the many social and political challenges that emerge from the converging dynamics of neurotechnologies and artificial intelligence. We also highlight the need for a global, transdisciplinary, and integrated community of researchers to address the challenges that are precipitated by this rapid sociotechnological transformation.

The full text is available online via Taylor & Francis Online (MSU Library or other institutional access may be required to view this article).

Dr. Cabrera co-authors ‘AJOB Neuroscience’ commentary on deep brain stimulation for depression

Laura Cabrera photo“Interpreting Patients’ Beliefs About Deep Brain Stimulation for Treatment-Resistant Depression: The Need for Caution and for Context” is an open peer commentary available in the latest AJOB Neuroscience issue. Michigan State University co-authors Dr. Laura Cabrera, Assistant Professor in the Center for Ethics and Humanities in the Life Sciences and the Department of Translational Science & Molecular Medicine, and Dr. Robyn Bluhm, Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy and Lyman Briggs College, are currently working on an NIH BRAIN Initiative funded project on a related topic.

Dr. Cabrera and Dr. Bluhm focus on two points raised by the Lawrence et al. paper. First, they discussed a couple methodological decisions made by the authors which may have had an important influence on the results presented in the article. The second point relates to the work of Dr. Cabrera and Dr. Bluhm, examining differences in the bioethics literature’s discussion of deep brain stimulation and public comments on newspaper and magazine studies covering the intervention; this part of the open peer commentary shows how their findings can help to deepen the analysis by Lawrence et al.

The full text is available online via Taylor & Francis Online (MSU Library or other institutional access may be required to view this article).

Article from Dr. Stahl in ‘AJOB Neuroscience’

Devan Stahl photoCenter Assistant Professor Dr. Devan Stahl and co-author John Banja (Emory University) have a target article in the current issue of AJOB Neuroscience, titled “The Persisting Problem of Precedent Autonomy Among Persons in a Minimally Conscious State: The Limitations of Philosophical Analysis and Clinical Assessment.”

Abstract: Determining whether it is ethical to withdraw life-sustaining treatments (WOLST) from a patient in the minimally conscious state (MCS) recalls recurring debates in bioethics, including the applicability of precedent autonomy and the usefulness of quality-of-life assessments. This article reviews the new clinical understanding of MCS and the complexities involved in detecting covert awareness in patients. Given the diagnostic and prognostic uncertainty surrounding most MCS determinations, we review the ongoing debates concerning precedent autonomy as they apply to making WOLST determinations for patients in MCS. We also consider the moral obligations clinicians might have to understand an MCS patient’s advance directives, current preferences, and quality of life. We argue that an optimal approach for making WOLST determinations requires weighing patients’ previous wishes against their current circumstances but that even here, factual as well as ethical vagaries and disagreements will be relatively commonplace.

The full text is available online via Taylor & Francis Online (MSU Library or other institutional access may be required to view these articles).