StemCell Therapy

The ethical issues around technologies that 'intervene' in the brain are set to come under scrutiny as part of a consultation by The Nuffield Council on Bioethics.

Brain-computer interfaces (BCI) are of particular concern, as they could be used in various military applications, to develop weapons or vehicles that are controlled remotely by brain signals. These are not yet in wide use but are being researched and tested, and some commercial BCI developments are already on the market.

If brain-computer interfaces are used to control military aircraft or weapons from far away, who takes ultimate responsibility for the actions? asked Thomas Baldwin, chair of the Councils study and Professor of Philosophy at the University of York. Could this be blurring the line between man and machine?

BCI measures and analyses a persons brain signals and converts them into an output such as movement. The use of BCI will sometimes require surgery to implant electrodes into a persons brain, although the most successful current developments are those that detect brain signals from the scalp, so they are less invasive.

This kind of technology can have very positive applications. For example, a person who is disabled and cannot speak might be able to move independently through a thought-controlled wheelchair, or communicate via a computer voice. There are also commercial possibilities in the gaming industry the development of thought-controlled computer games, for example.

However, many of these technologies are in the early stages of research, and Nuffield Council has raised concerns about the safety of some of the techniques that are currently in development.

The impact on a person and on their mind has to be considered, for example, are there risks of unwanted changes in mood, behaviour or personality being introduced into the brain? said Baldwin.

The consultation will also examine the ethics of deep brain stimulation, and neural stem cell therapy. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a form of neurostimulation that requires brain surgery to place an electrode in the brain and wires under the skin. Electric or magnetic stimuli are then applied to nerves to alter brain activity in a specific area.

DBS is currently used in the treatment of Parkinsons disease, obsessive-compulsive disorders and movement disorders such as dystonia (which causes tremors). However, possible complications include stroke, speech disorders and visual problems.

Meanwhile, neural stem cell therapy involves stem cells being injected into the brain under general anaesthetic. Researchers are looking at using this method to treat conditions such as Alzheimers or Huntingdons disease.

Link:
Thought-controlled weapons spark ethics debate

This entry was posted on March 2, 2012 at 2:07 am and is filed under Stem Cell Complications. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |