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Judy Illes

Publications and source records attributed to Judy Illes.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Neuroethics: a modern context for ethics in neuroscience.

Neuroethics, a recently modernized field at the intersection of bioethics and neuroscience, is founded on centuries of discussion of the ethical issues associated with mind and behavior. Broadly defined, neuroethics is concerned with ethical, legal and social policy implications of neuroscience, and with aspects of neuroscience research itself. Advances in neuroscience increasingly challenge long-held views of the self and the individual's relationship to society. Neuroscience also has led to innovations in clinical medicine that have not only therapeutic but also non-therapeutic dimensions that extend well beyond previously charted boundaries. The exponential increase in cross-disciplinary research, the commercialization of cognitive neuroscience, the impetus for training in ethics, and the increased attention being paid to public understanding of science all illuminate the important role of neuroethics in neuroscience.

Bioethical Issues↗
PubMed2006

Subjects' expectations in neuroimaging research.

PURPOSE: To explore subjects' attitudes and expectations concerning the detection and management of incidental findings in neuroimaging research. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Healthy control subjects (N = 105) who previously participated in neuroimaging studies in medical and nonmedical settings were surveyed about their expectations and attitudes toward unexpected clinical findings on their research brain scans. We hypothesized that even though the participants consented to a scanning procedure for research purposes alone, they would still expect pathology, if present, to be detected and reported to them. RESULTS: Fifty-four percent of participants reported that they expected research scans to detect abnormalities if they existed. Nearly all subjects (>90%) reported that they would want findings communicated to them, and many (59%) preferred this to be done by a physician affiliated with the research team. The participants responded in similar ways whether they were scanned in medical or nonmedical settings. CONCLUSION: Clarity about procedures for handling incidental findings when obtaining written and verbal informed consent is essential to ensure that the subjects' expectations are consistent with the purpose and scope of the research.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Neuroethical responsibilities.

Neuroscience represents a dynamic area of biomedical research where neuroethical responsibilities for researchers are emerging. This paper is the companion piece to the French-language one also published in this issue of the Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences. It serves as a review of recent advances in neuroethics through the lens of three cases: (1) incidental finding of anomalies in neuroimaging research; (2) creation of neurotechnologies that can lead to cognitive enhancement, and (3) responsible communication of research results. We propose and discuss a multidimensional framework of neuroethical responsibilities to help tackle these issues. The framework reiterates the fundamental role of scientific integrity, puts in the foreground social responsibilities pertaining to the eventual use of neuroscience knowledge, and highlights self-reflection in research and training of researchers.

Cognition↗
PubMed2006

An ethics perspective on transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and human neuromodulation.

This paper concerns the ethics of human neuromodulation using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). We examine the challenges of modulating the brain with TMS through the research ethics lens and in clinical medicine for treating frank pathology, primarily in psychiatric diseases. We also consider contemporary issues raised in the neuroethics literature about managing unexpected findings, and relate these to TMS and to other frontier neurotechnology that is becoming openly available in the public domain. We argue that safety and informed consent are of paramount importance for TMS, but that personal values and sociocultural factors must also be considered when examining the promise of this technology and applications that ought to be highlighted for extra precautions.

Brain↗
PubMed2005

fMRI in the public eye.

The wide dissemination and expanding applications of functional MRI have not escaped the attention of the media or discussion in the wider public arena. From the bench to the bedside, this technology has introduced substantial ethical challenges. Are the boundaries of what it can and cannot achieve being communicated to the public? Are its limitations understood? And given the complexities that are inherent to neuroscience, are current avenues for communication adequate?

Biotechnology↗
PubMed2005

International perspectives on engaging the public in neuroethics.

With an ever-increasing understanding of the brain mechanisms associated with core human attributes and values, there is an increasing public interest in the results of neuroscience research and the ways in which that new knowledge will be used. Here, we present perspectives on engaging the public on these issues on an international scale, the role of the media, and prospects for the new field of neuroethics as both a focus and a driver of these efforts.

Bioethical Issues↗
PubMed2005

Imaging or imagining? A neuroethics challenge informed by genetics.

From a twenty-first century partnership between bioethics and neuroscience, the modern field of neuroethics is emerging, and technologies enabling functional neuroimaging with unprecedented sensitivity have brought new ethical, social and legal issues to the forefront. Some issues, akin to those surrounding modern genetics, raise critical questions regarding prediction of disease, privacy and identity. However, with new and still-evolving insights into our neurobiology and previously unquantifiable features of profoundly personal behaviors such as social attitude, value and moral agency, the difficulty of carefully and properly interpreting the relationship between brain findings and our own self-concept is unprecedented. Therefore, while the ethics of genetics provides a legitimate starting point--even a backbone--for tackling ethical issues in neuroimaging, they do not suffice. Drawing on recent neuroimaging findings and their plausible real-world applications, we argue that interpretation of neuroimaging data is a key epistemological and ethical challenge. This challenge is two-fold. First, at the scientific level, the sheer complexity of neuroscience research poses challenges for integration of knowledge and meaningful interpretation of data. Second, at the social and cultural level, we find that interpretations of imaging studies are bound by cultural and anthropological frameworks. In particular, the introduction of concepts of self and personhood in neuroimaging illustrates the interaction of interpretation levels and is a major reason why ethical reflection on genetics will only partially help settle neuroethical issues. Indeed, ethical interpretation of such findings will necessitate not only traditional bioethical input but also a wider perspective on the construction of scientific knowledge.

Behavior↗
PubMed2005

No child left without a brain scan? Toward a pediatric neuroethics.

Brain research is yielding new information about the development of cognitive and behavioral traits in children--and how development can go off track. This is information parents, teachers, and others will use to help with problems from dyslexia to drug abuse. But with this information, often technical, come many questions. Will knowledge from brain scans be used to label children early in life? How will confidentiality be maintained as diverse providers, some of them commercial, compete for patients? Should government pay for scanning all children to identify not only potential problems but also extraordinary potential? These are questions about values and mutual responsibilities in neuroscience--the domain of neuroethics. The authors consider what an ethical framework for applying the fruits of neuroscience to children--a pediatric neuroethics--might look like.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Discovery and disclosure of incidental findings in neuroimaging research.

PURPOSE: To examine different protocols for handling incidental findings on brain research MRIs, and provide a platform for establishing formal discussions of related ethical and policy issues. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Corresponding authors identified from a database of peer-reviewed publications in 1991-2002 involving functional MRI (fMRI), alone or in combination with other imaging modalities, were invited to participate in this web-based survey. The survey asked questions regarding knowledge and handling of incidental findings, as well as characteristics of the scanning environment, training required, IRB protocol requirements, and neuroradiologist involvement. RESULTS: Seventy-four investigators who conduct MRI studies in the United States and abroad responded. Eighty-two percent (54/66) reported discovering incidental findings in their studies, such as arteriovenous malformations, brain tumors, and developmental abnormalities. Substantial variability was found in the procedures for handling and communicating findings to subjects, neuroradiologist involvement, personnel permitted to operate equipment, and training. CONCLUSION: Guidelines for minimum and optimum standards for detecting and communicating incidental findings on brain MRI research are needed.

Biomedical Research↗
PubMed2004

A fish story? Brain maps, lie detection, and personhood.

Generations of brain-imaging studies have provided increasingly detailed information about the complexity of human behavior, but few lines of investigations better illustrate the intricacy of the brain's workings than the neural processes involved in lying or deceiving. And perhaps none make clearer the difficulty of accurately distinguishing between truthfulness and untruthfulness with new imaging technology. Moreover, we must ask ourselves if we are laying a foundation of risk regarding the very idea of creating brain maps of behavior and personal identity and whether these maps are ready for such real-world applications as law, employment, and insurance. When technology of this kind moves out of the hands of researchers and becomes available for practical uses, the lives of individuals and future of our society may be profoundly affected.

Behavior↗
PubMed2003

Self-referred whole-body CT imaging: current implications for health care consumers.

PURPOSE: To conduct an empirical analysis of self-referred whole-body computed tomography (CT) and develop a profile of the geographic and demographic distribution of centers, types of services and modalities, costs, and procedures for reporting results. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An analysis was conducted of Web sites for imaging centers accepting self-referred patients identified by two widely used Internet search engines with large indexes. These Web sites were analyzed for geographic location, type of screening center, services, costs, and procedures for managing imaging results. Demographic data were extrapolated for analysis on the basis of center location. Descriptive statistics, such as frequencies, means, SDs, ranges, and CIs, were generated to describe the characteristics of the samples. Data were compared with national norms by using a distribution-free method for calculating a 95% CI (P <.05) for the median. RESULTS: Eighty-eight centers identified with the search methods were widely distributed across the United States, with a concentration on both coasts. Demographic analysis further situated them in areas of the country characterized by a population that consisted largely of European Americans (P <.05) and individuals of higher education (P <.05) and socioeconomic status (P <.05). Forty-seven centers offered whole-body screening; heart and lung examinations were most frequently offered. Procedures for reporting results were highly variable. CONCLUSION: The geographic distribution of the centers suggests target populations of educated health-conscious consumers who can assume high out-of-pocket costs. Guidelines developed from within the profession and further research are needed to ensure that benefits of these services outweigh risks to individuals and the health care system.

Humans↗
PubMed2003

Environmental and genetic determinants of tobacco use: methodology for a multidisciplinary, longitudinal family-based investigation.

This article describes the ongoing collaborative effort of six research teams to operationalize and execute an integrative approach to the study of gene x environment interactions in the development of tobacco dependence. At the core of the project is a longitudinal investigation of social and behavioral risk factors for tobacco use in individuals who were, on average, 13 years of age at intake and for whom smoking outcomes extending from early adolescence to young adulthood have been characterized previously (current average age of the cohort is 29 years). The conceptual framework for the integrative approach and the longitudinal investigation on which the study is based is presented. A description is also provided of the methods used to: (a) recruit participants and families to provide DNA samples and information on tobacco use; (b) assess participants for relevant tobacco-related phenotypes including smoking history, current use of tobacco, and nicotine metabolism; (c) assess the quality of the DNA samples collected from participants for genome-wide scanning and candidate gene analysis; (d) examine several research questions concerning the role of genetic and environmental factors in the onset and maintenance of tobacco use; and (e) ensure adherence to local and federal guidelines for ethical and legal investigations of genotypic associations with tobacco-related phenotypes in families. This investigation is unique among ongoing studies of the genetics of tobacco dependence in the extent to which equal importance has been assigned to both phenotypic and genotypic measurements.

Adolescent↗