When Altering Brain Function Becomes Mind Control
Functional neurosurgery has seen a resurgence of interest in surgical treatments for psychiatric illness. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) technology is the preferred tool in the current wave of clinical experiments because it allows clinicians to directly alter the functions of targeted brain regions,...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2014-10-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnsys.2014.00202/full |
| _version_ | 1818514241936687104 |
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| author | Andrew Sanford Koivuniemi Kevin J Otto Kevin J Otto |
| author_facet | Andrew Sanford Koivuniemi Kevin J Otto Kevin J Otto |
| author_sort | Andrew Sanford Koivuniemi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Functional neurosurgery has seen a resurgence of interest in surgical treatments for psychiatric illness. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) technology is the preferred tool in the current wave of clinical experiments because it allows clinicians to directly alter the functions of targeted brain regions, in a reversible manner, with the intent of correcting diseases of the mind, such as depression, addiction, anorexia nervosa, dementia, and obsessive compulsive disorder. These promising treatments raise a critical philosophical and humanitarian question. Under what conditions does ‘altering brain function’ qualify as ‘mind control’? In order to answer this question one needs a definition of mind control. To this end, we reviewed the relevant philosophical, ethical, and neurosurgical literature in order to create a set of criteria for what constitutes mind control in the context of DBS. We also outline clinical implications of these criteria. Finally, we demonstrate the relevance of the proposed criteria by focusing especially on serendipitous treatments involving DBS, i.e., cases in which an unintended therapeutic benefit occurred. These cases highlight the importance of gaining the consent of the subject for the new therapy in order to avoid committing an act of mind control. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T00:13:04Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f32ac51598e84c69b4660513b76daac4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1662-5137 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T00:13:04Z |
| publishDate | 2014-10-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience |
| spelling | doaj.art-f32ac51598e84c69b4660513b76daac42022-12-22T01:28:05ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience1662-51372014-10-01810.3389/fnsys.2014.00202103741When Altering Brain Function Becomes Mind ControlAndrew Sanford Koivuniemi0Kevin J Otto1Kevin J Otto2Indiana University School of MedicinePurdue UniversityUniversity of FloridaFunctional neurosurgery has seen a resurgence of interest in surgical treatments for psychiatric illness. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) technology is the preferred tool in the current wave of clinical experiments because it allows clinicians to directly alter the functions of targeted brain regions, in a reversible manner, with the intent of correcting diseases of the mind, such as depression, addiction, anorexia nervosa, dementia, and obsessive compulsive disorder. These promising treatments raise a critical philosophical and humanitarian question. Under what conditions does ‘altering brain function’ qualify as ‘mind control’? In order to answer this question one needs a definition of mind control. To this end, we reviewed the relevant philosophical, ethical, and neurosurgical literature in order to create a set of criteria for what constitutes mind control in the context of DBS. We also outline clinical implications of these criteria. Finally, we demonstrate the relevance of the proposed criteria by focusing especially on serendipitous treatments involving DBS, i.e., cases in which an unintended therapeutic benefit occurred. These cases highlight the importance of gaining the consent of the subject for the new therapy in order to avoid committing an act of mind control.http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnsys.2014.00202/fullDeep Brain StimulationEthicsNeurosurgeryPsychiatryPhilosophy of Mind |
| spellingShingle | Andrew Sanford Koivuniemi Kevin J Otto Kevin J Otto When Altering Brain Function Becomes Mind Control Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience Deep Brain Stimulation Ethics Neurosurgery Psychiatry Philosophy of Mind |
| title | When Altering Brain Function Becomes Mind Control |
| title_full | When Altering Brain Function Becomes Mind Control |
| title_fullStr | When Altering Brain Function Becomes Mind Control |
| title_full_unstemmed | When Altering Brain Function Becomes Mind Control |
| title_short | When Altering Brain Function Becomes Mind Control |
| title_sort | when altering brain function becomes mind control |
| topic | Deep Brain Stimulation Ethics Neurosurgery Psychiatry Philosophy of Mind |
| url | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnsys.2014.00202/full |
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