 | Michal Lavidor Professor - Bar Ian University Psychologie |
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04.03.2019-30.04.2019
Neuroethical issues in cognitive enhancement
• Neuroethical issues in cognitive enhancement When people want to be fitter and stronger, they go to the gym or start running. These actions that might cost lots of money (for example if you get yourself a personal trainer) seem natural and legitimate and usually do not bring ethical questions. But what happens when people want to get smarter? This is not the case of illness or a medical problem requiring rehabilitation and treatment, but normative people that would like to improve their (normal) cognitive abilities – memory, attention, decision making and more. This research field is called "cognitive enhancement" and as a relatively novel field it does bring ethical questions. Some of the cognitive enhancement methods are old and well known, for example cognitive training. Some are new and the effective mechanisms are yet to be established, for example non-invasive brain stimulation or hyperbaric oxygen therapy. People are using hyperbaric oxygen therapy to facilitate brain functions hoping to improve memory even though the exact mechanism or even proof of concept are not established yet. This has clear ethical considerations - since the treatment has a tag price of 15,000 Euro per month, is it moral at all to request payments for something which might not work? Or even generate negative effects? And if it is useful, should only rich people benefit from it? There is a growing need to assess the benefits and harms of cognitive enhancement due to the growing number of neuro-technologies that promise to improve cognitive functioning. Because there are various types of interventions aimed to achieve cognitive changes in the brain, it is important that the assessment tools will be thorough and universal, and will include not only cognitive but also social and affective aspects. Here we aim to develop a standard test battery that will test perceptual, cognitive, affective and social aspects of individuals undergoing cognitive enhancement. I hope that my stay at the Brocher residencies and the interactions with the various visiting scholars will allow me to discuss and define the potential vulnerable aspects of neuro-technologies of cognitive enhancement. Possible discussion topics include: • Should we enhance cognition in healthy people and if so, under what conditions? For example military forces, shift workers • Should we limit access to cognitive enhancement tools? • What is the risk/benefit ratio to individuals and society of using neurotechnology? • Who should have access to neurotechnology? See Prof. Lavidor 100+ publications at Google scholar https://scholar.google.co.il/citations?user=T9bnrl8AAAAJ&hl=iw&oi=ao
See 100+ publications at Google scholar https://scholar.google.co.il/citations?user=T9bnrl8AAAAJ&hl=iw&oi=ao
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