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Although ethical controversies in psychiatry have occurred frequently over the years, new attention is now being paid to potential ethical implications of neuroscience research, as seen in a recent Science commentary. In past years, stories in Journal Watch Psychiatry touched on these questions. One example is the issue of “cosmetic neurology” — whether we should use drugs to improve our cognition in the absence of disease.
Imaging techniques that reveal elements of brain functioning might have ethical implications. Functional brain imaging of a patient in a vegetative state who was asked to imagine herself playing tennis or walking through her home suggested her awareness of the content of conversation. Seven patients in a vegetative state …