Essay On Neuroscience

As the scientific field of Neuroscience develops and expands, so too does the discipline of Neuroethics. This new and emerging area of study aims to discuss the ethical applications of advancements in neuroscience. Over the past few decades, technological advancements in neuroscience have risen sharply. Every day, scientist’s understanding of the human mind increases exponentially. New technologies grant researchers the ability to make cognitive enhancements, carry out brain imaging and provide the human brain with a variety of different services. Neuroethics attempts to bridge the capabilities of science, with the social and ethical climate of today’s world. New advancements in what scientists can do, such as Brain Imaging, Cognitive enhancement, pharmacological enhancement of mood, and brain machine interfaces and non-pharmacological enhancement must be carefully examined to determine their proper and ethical usage.

In both clinical care and research, the use of brain imaging, also known as “neuroimaging”, is becoming an increasingly important technique. New technologies such as Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, or FMRI, allow researchers to study the brain at a level which was never thought possible. This noninvasive procedure allows researchers to visualize brain structure and function, at both the molecular and whole brain level (A.) Scientists are now able to better understand neural networks and a variety of other cognitive processes. For the first time in human history, extremely complex wonders of the brain are being uncovered. Psychiatric diseases, human emotion, personality traits, and many other phenomena that were once mysteries are now being deeply analyzed and understood. Each day new doors are being opened...

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...d from taking these drugs and both people who seek treatment and enhancement are granted access to them?

If people seeking neurological enhancement are given access to these types of drugs many more ethical issues will be raised. Firstly, are these drugs even safe? Many pharmaceutical therapies for cognitive enhancement are relatively new, and therefore there is a severe lack of information about their long term usage. Of course, side effects are a concern with any medicine currently available to patients. However, not all drugs available deal with systems so complex as the brain and nervous system. The dangers presented are amplified greatly because of the importance and intricacies of this system.

Many questions regarding society must also be answered. How will the lives of all people, with an emphasis on those who do not use enhancement therapies be affected?