Bioethics Commission Plays Early Role in BRAIN Initiative; Penn’s Gutmann Is Chair
A new report from the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues calls for the integration of ethics across the life of neuroscientific research endeavors. The Commission, chaired by University of Pennsylvania President Amy Gutmann, released the first volume of its two-part response to President Obama’s request related to the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies, or BRAIN, Initiative.
The report, “Gray Matters: Integrative Approaches for Neuroscience, Ethics, and Society,” includes recommendations for institutions and individuals engaged in neuroscience research including government agencies and other funders.
The full news release from the Commission is available here.
To accompany the release of the report, Gutmann wrote “Using Our Brains” in The Chronicle of Higher Education, saying, “By integrating ethics into neuroscience research early and thoroughly, we can avoid the need for a future bioethics commission to perform a painful postmortem on the Brain Initiative. When it comes to neuroscience, surely we should use all our brains.”
Some coverage of the Commission’s report:
The Chronicle of Higher Education
