Athens International Master’s Programme in Neurosciences
ETHICS AND NEUROSCIENCE
Coordinators
Effy Vayena, Professor ETH Zurich, Associate Vice President for Digital Transformation & Governance, Chair of Bioethics, Health Ethics and Policy Lab
Jeffrey Kahn, Andreas C Dracopoulos Director, and Levi Professor of Bioethics and Public Policy, Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics
Teaching hours and weekly schedule
This is a 4th semester course of approximately 1.5 weeks that corresponds to 2 ECTs and 18 total hours of teaching.
Course Description:
Recent advances in neuroscience have considerably improved our understanding of brain function. However, the study of brain’s mysteries often intersects with ethical and public policy concerns. This course aims at presenting and discussing philosophical, societal and scientific perspectives on major bioethical issues pertinent to neuroscience research. Several subjects will be covered, including ethics and brain organoids, ethical issues in animal research in neuroscience, the effects of pharmacological and surgical interventions on the brain/mind, issues of consent for participation in neuroscience research, therapy versus enhancement, brain imaging and mental privacy, neurobiology of decision-making, consciousness, personhood, end-of-life management and death.
Course Overview
The course will present ethical issues in neuroscience research, controversies and arguments regarding neuroscience research involving both animal and human participants and the social implications of neuroscience research.
Titles of lectures and names of the lecturers
| A/A | Ethics and Neuroscience | Lecturer |
| 1 | The beginning of life and the brain - Moral status of the embryo and path to personhood | Effy Vayena, Jeffrey Kahn, & Marcello Ienca |
| 2 | Ethics and brain organoids | Effy Vayena, Jeffrey Kahn, & Marcello Ienca |
| 3 | Ethics and neuroscience research involving animals | Effy Vayena, Jeffrey Kahn, & Marcello Ienca |
| 4 | Ethics and neuroscience research involving humans | Effy Vayena, Jeffrey Kahn, & Marcello Ienca |
| 5 | Ethics and brain-altering drugs | Effy Vayena, Jeffrey Kahn, & Marcello Ienca |
| 6 | Informed consent in neuroscience research and applications | Effy Vayena, Jeffrey Kahn, & Marcello Ienca |
| 7 | Neuroscience and law | Effy Vayena, Jeffrey Kahn, & Marcello Ienca |
| 8 | Personhood, person identity, and the social brain | Effy Vayena, Jeffrey Kahn, & Marcello Ienca |
| 9 | Ethics, brain imaging, and mental privacy | Effy Vayena, Jeffrey Kahn, & Marcello Ienca |
| 10 | Consciousness, unconsciousness, and death | Effy Vayena, Jeffrey Kahn, & Marcello Ienca |
| 11 | Ethics and neurotechnology: implants, brain-machine interfaces, and engineering the brain | Effy Vayena, Jeffrey Kahn, & Marcello Ienca |
| 12 | Film - Presentation of an ethics and neuroscience-related movie, followed by discussion | Effy Vayena, Jeffrey Kahn, & Marcello Ienca |