scholarly journals Neuroscienze e neuroetica: riflessioni scientifiche e correlati bioetici

2011 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Massimo Gandolfini ◽  
Adelaide Conti
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Structure ◽  
Brain Function ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Personal Responsibility ◽  
Specific Task ◽  
Freedom Of Choice ◽  
Allo Studio ◽  
Cognitive Neurosciences ◽  
The Moment ◽  
The Brain

Le nuove tecnologie di neuroimaging, che rientrano nel grande campo delle neuroscienze, ci consentono di indagare lo studio della funzionalità cerebrale nel momento in cui eseguiamo un dato compito o elaboriamo un pensiero. Oltre allo studio degli stati post-coma, si è così aperto il grande capitolo delle cosiddette “neuroscienze cognitive”, cioè lo studio delle funzioni simboliche superiori che caratterizzano la persona umana. Siamo oggi in grado di mappare le aree cerebrali che sono coinvolte nella memoria, nelle percezioni e nelle emozioni, nell’elaborazioni del processo decisionale, fino a giungere alla condotta etica. L’indubbio grande valore scientifico di queste ricerche trascina con sé il rischio di una pericolosa “invasione di campo”, in argomenti di portata etica che spettano ad altre discipline, dalla filosofia all’antropologia, dalla teologia alla psicologia. La tentazione di ridurre la complessità della persona umana ad una “macchina” neurologicamente predeterminata, con un’architettura neuronale costruita sull’impianto genico non modificabile, porta con sé il pesante ridimensionamento (o l’abolizione) di grandi istanze etiche, quali la libera scelta e la responsabilità. Ne è nata una nuova disciplina, la neuroetica, che si prefigge di leggere l’uomo, nella sua individualità e globalità, alla luce della neurobiologia documentata dalle neuroscienze. Nella realtà, proprio partendo dai dati scientifici, genetici e neurologici, possiamo rigorosamente dimostrare ed affermare che questa impostazione è riduttiva, limitata, lacunosa e, quindi, oggettivamente inaccettabile. Si richiede la fondazione di un’etica delle neuroscienze, piuttosto che l’attuale deriva delle neuroscienze dell’etica. ---------- The new neuroimaging technology allows us to investigate the study of brain function at the moment in which a specific task is executed or a thought is elaborated. In this way, the vast chapter on the so called “cognitive neurosciences” has been opened. Today we are able to map the areas of the brain involved in memory, perception and emotions, in the elaboration of the decisional process, all the way to ethical conduct. The temptation to reduce the complexity of humans to a neurologically predetermined “machine” with an unalterable genetic structure built with a neuronal architecture carries with it a heavy downsizing (or abolition) of important ethical issues, such as freedom of choice and personal responsibility. In reality, starting precisely from scientific, genetic and neurological data, we can state and rigorously demonstrate that this formulation is reductive, limited and faulty and therefore unacceptable objectively. We request the formulation of an ethics for neurosciences rather than the existing neurosciences of ethics into which we have draft.

Neuroethics

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Brain Function ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Wearable Technologies ◽  
Definition Of Death ◽  
Populations At Risk ◽  
The Future ◽  
Aging Adults ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Brain ◽  
New Criteria

We have new answers to how the brain works and tools which can now monitor and manipulate brain function. Rapid advances in neuroscience raise critical questions with which society must grapple. What new balances must be struck between diagnosis and prediction, and invasive and noninvasive interventions? Are new criteria needed for the clinical definition of death in cases where individuals are eligible for organ donation? How will new mobile and wearable technologies affect the future of growing children and aging adults? To what extent is society responsible for protecting populations at risk from environmental neurotoxins? As data from emerging technologies converge and are made available on public databases, what frameworks and policies will maximize benefits while ensuring privacy of health information? And how can people and communities with different values and perspectives be maximally engaged in these important questions? Neuroethics: Anticipating the Future is written by scholars from diverse disciplines—neurology and neuroscience, ethics and law, public health, sociology, and philosophy. With its forward-looking insights and considerations for the future, the book examines the most pressing current ethical issues.

Computational specificity in the human brain

2016 ◽  
Vol 39 ◽  
Author(s):  
James M. Shine ◽  
Ian Eisenberg ◽  
Russell A. Poldrack
Keyword(s):  
Human Brain ◽  
Brain Function ◽  
Specific Task ◽  
Relative Lack ◽  
Brain System ◽  
Computational Capacity ◽  
The Brain

AbstractAlthough meta-analytic neuroimaging studies demonstrate a relative lack of specificity in the brain, this evidence may be the result of limits inherent to these types of studies. From this perspective, we review recent findings that suggest that brain function is most appropriately categorized according to the computational capacity of each brain system, rather than the specific task states that elicit its activity.

Neuroscience at the Intersection of Mind and Brain

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jack M. Gorman
Keyword(s):  
Brain Function ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Life Experience ◽  
Health Practice ◽  
The Face ◽  
Health And Disease ◽  
Mind And Brain ◽  
The Moment ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Brain Connections

This book makes complicated concepts and findings in modern neuroscience accessible to anyone with an interest in how the brain works. It explains in detail how every experience we have from the moment we are conceived changes our brains. Finally, it advances the idea that psychotherapy is a type of life experience that alters brain function and corrects aberrant brain connections. The chapters explore what makes our brains different from our nearest genetic neighbors; how life’s experiences affect the way genes in the brain are expressed and neurons connect with each other; why connections between different parts of the brain are important in both health and disease; what happens in the brains of animals and humans in the face of sudden fear, in depression, or when falling in love; and how medications and psychotherapies work. The book is based on cutting-edge research in neuroscience, psychiatry, and psychology and includes references to the scientific literature. Written by an author who studied human behavior and brain function for three decades, it is presented in a highly accessible manner, full of personal anecdotes and observations, and it touches on many of the controversies in contemporary mental health practice.

Confronting the grey zone after severe brain injury

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (6) ◽  
pp. 707-711 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Peterson ◽  
Adrian M. Owen
Keyword(s):  
Brain Injury ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Vegetative State ◽  
Clinical Care ◽  
Grey Zone ◽  
Severe Brain Injury ◽  
New Methods ◽  
Legal Decision Making ◽  
Technological Developments ◽  
The Brain

In recent years, rapid technological developments in the field of neuroimaging have provided several new methods for revealing thoughts, actions and intentions based solely on the pattern of activity that is observed in the brain. In specialized centres, these methods are now being employed routinely to assess residual cognition, detect consciousness and even communicate with some behaviorally non-responsive patients who clinically appear to be comatose or in a vegetative state. In this article, we consider some of the ethical issues raised by these developments and the profound implications they have for clinical care, diagnosis, prognosis and medical-legal decision-making after severe brain injury.

Frontier concept of rabi chip for intelligent humanoid

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Preecha Yupapin ◽  
Amiri I. S. ◽  
Ali J. ◽  
Ponsuwancharoen N. ◽  
Youplao P.
Keyword(s):  
Human Brain ◽  
Brain Function ◽  
Rabi Oscillation ◽  
Liquid Core ◽  
Brain Surface ◽  
Dipole Oscillation ◽  
On Chip ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Robotic Applications ◽  
Atom System

The sequence of the human brain can be configured by the originated strongly coupling fields to a pair of the ionic substances(bio-cells) within the microtubules. From which the dipole oscillation begins and transports by the strong trapped force, which is known as a tweezer. The tweezers are the trapped polaritons, which are the electrical charges with information. They will be collected on the brain surface and transport via the liquid core guide wave, which is the mixture of blood content and water. The oscillation frequency is called the Rabi frequency, is formed by the two-level atom system. Our aim will manipulate the Rabi oscillation by an on-chip device, where the quantum outputs may help to form the realistic human brain function for humanoid robotic applications.

Finding Community of Brain Networks Based on Neighbor Index and DPSO with Dynamic Crossover

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 287-299
Author(s):  
Jie Zhang ◽  
Junhong Feng ◽  
Fang-Xiang Wu
Keyword(s):  
Brain Function ◽  
Brain Networks ◽  
Discrete Particle Swarm Optimization ◽  
Mri Brain ◽  
Mutation Operators ◽  
Neural Unit ◽  
Crossover And Mutation ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Index Table ◽  
Dynamic Crossover

Background: : The brain networks can provide us an effective way to analyze brain function and brain disease detection. In brain networks, there exist some import neural unit modules, which contain meaningful biological insights. Objective:: Therefore, we need to find the optimal neural unit modules effectively and efficiently. Method:: In this study, we propose a novel algorithm to find community modules of brain networks by combining Neighbor Index and Discrete Particle Swarm Optimization (DPSO) with dynamic crossover, abbreviated as NIDPSO. The differences between this study and the existing ones lie in that NIDPSO is proposed first to find community modules of brain networks, and dose not need to predefine and preestimate the number of communities in advance. Results: : We generate a neighbor index table to alleviate and eliminate ineffective searches and design a novel coding by which we can determine the community without computing the distances amongst vertices in brain networks. Furthermore, dynamic crossover and mutation operators are designed to modify NIDPSO so as to alleviate the drawback of premature convergence in DPSO. Conclusion: The numerical results performing on several resting-state functional MRI brain networks demonstrate that NIDPSO outperforms or is comparable with other competing methods in terms of modularity, coverage and conductance metrics.

Implantable neural interfaces

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefano Vassanelli
Keyword(s):  
Brain Function ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Ionic Channels ◽  
Patch Clamp Technique ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Optogenetic Stimulation ◽  
Physical Interfaces ◽  
The Brain

Establishing direct communication with the brain through physical interfaces is a fundamental strategy to investigate brain function. Starting with the patch-clamp technique in the seventies, neuroscience has moved from detailed characterization of ionic channels to the analysis of single neurons and, more recently, microcircuits in brain neuronal networks. Development of new biohybrid probes with electrodes for recording and stimulating neurons in the living animal is a natural consequence of this trend. The recent introduction of optogenetic stimulation and advanced high-resolution large-scale electrical recording approaches demonstrates this need. Brain implants for real-time neurophysiology are also opening new avenues for neuroprosthetics to restore brain function after injury or in neurological disorders. This chapter provides an overview on existing and emergent neurophysiology technologies with particular focus on those intended to interface neuronal microcircuits in vivo. Chemical, electrical, and optogenetic-based interfaces are presented, with an analysis of advantages and disadvantages of the different technical approaches.

8. Retrospect of Mental Philosophy (Periodical Literature.)

1880 ◽  
Vol 26 (113) ◽  
pp. 119
Author(s):  
B. F. C. Costelloe
Keyword(s):  
Periodical Literature ◽  
Main Interest ◽  
Intended Meaning ◽  
Border Line ◽  
Emotional Language ◽  
Ordinary Power ◽  
The Moment ◽  
The Brain ◽  
The Way

The first number for the year is not remarkable for any paper of striking value. Readers of the Journal will be chiefly attracted by the long and clearly written resumé of Dr. Hughlings Jackson's recent studies “On Affections of Speech from Disease of the Brain,” which is contributed by Mr. James Sully. He remarks on the great value of Dr. Jackson's attempts to classify the different forms of aphasia under the three main heads or stages of—(1) Defect of Speech, in which the patient has a full vocabulary, but confuses words; (2) Loss of Speech, in which the patient is practically speechless, and his pantomimic power is impaired as well; and (3) Loss of Language, in which, besides being speechless, he has altogether lost the power of pantomime, and even his faculty of emotional language is deeply involved in the wreck. All these states or stages again are, properly speaking, to be distinguished altogether from affections of speech in the way of loss of articulation (owing to paralysis of the tongue, &c.), or loss of vocalisation (owing to disease of the larynx); whereas the three degrees or stages of aphasia proper are due to a deep-seated and severe disorganisation of the brain. The main interest of the theory lies in the ingenious and carefully-argued analysis of the symptoms, by which Dr. Jackson arrives at the theory that as the process of destruction goes on, the superior “layers” or strata of speech fail first—those namely which involve the ordinary power of adapting sounds to the circumstances of the moment as they arise; after them fail the “more highly organized utterances” those, namely, which have in any way become automatic, such as “come on,” “wo! wo!” and even “yes” and “no,” which stand on the border-line between emotional and intellectual language; next fails the power of adapting other than vocal signs to convey an intended meaning, which is called, rather clumsily, “pantomimic propositionising;” and last of all dies out the power of uttering sounds or making signs expressive merely of emotion—a power which, of course, is not true speech at all.

scholarly journals Aquaporin-1 and aquaporin-9 gene variations in sudden infant death syndrome

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siri Hauge Opdal ◽  
Linda Ferrante ◽  
Torleiv Ole Rognum ◽  
Arne Stray-Pedersen
Keyword(s):  
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome ◽  
Infant Death ◽  
Brain Function ◽  
Sudden Infant Death ◽  
Sudden Infant ◽  
Unexpected Death ◽  
Aquaporin 9 ◽  
Genes Encoding ◽  
External Risk ◽  
The Brain

AbstractSeveral studies have indicated that a vulnerability in the development and regulation of brain function is involved in sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). The aim of this study was to investigate the genes encoding the brain aquaporins (AQPs) AQP1 and AQP9 in SIDS. The hypothesis was that specific variants of these genes are part of the genetic vulnerability predisposing infants to sudden unexpected death. The study included 168 SIDS cases with a median age of 15.5 (range 2–52) weeks and 372 adolescent/adult deceased controls with a median age of 44 (range 11–91) years. In the AQP1 gene, the rs17159702 CC/CT genotypes were found to be associated with SIDS (p = 0.02). In the AQP9 gene, the combination of a TT genotype of rs8042354, rs2292711 and rs13329178 was more frequent in SIDS cases than in controls (p = 0.03). In the SIDS group, an association was found between genetic variations in the AQP1 gene and maternal smoking and between the 3xTT combination in the AQP9 gene and being found lifeless in a prone position. In conclusion, this study adds further evidence to the involvement of brain aquaporins in SIDS, suggesting that specific variants of AQP genes constitute a genetic predisposition, making the infant vulnerable to sudden death together with external risk factors and probably other genetic factors.

scholarly journals Expression Analysis of Zinc Transporters in Nervous Tissue Cells Reveals Neuronal and Synaptic Localization of ZIP4

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (9) ◽  
pp. 4511
Author(s):  
Chiara A. De Benedictis ◽  
Claudia Haffke ◽  
Simone Hagmeyer ◽  
Ann Katrin Sauer ◽  
Andreas M. Grabrucker
Keyword(s):  
Brain Function ◽  
Zinc Homeostasis ◽  
Zinc Transporters ◽  
Excitatory Synapses ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Synaptic Localization ◽  
Zinc Levels ◽  
Rat Astrocyte ◽  
Cellular Zinc ◽  
The Brain

In the last years, research has shown that zinc ions play an essential role in the physiology of brain function. Zinc acts as a potent neuromodulatory agent and signaling ions, regulating healthy brain development and the function of both neurons and glial cells. Therefore, the concentration of zinc within the brain and its cells is tightly controlled. Zinc transporters are key regulators of (extra-) cellular zinc levels, and deregulation of zinc homeostasis and zinc transporters has been associated with neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders. However, to date, the presence of specific family members and their subcellular localization within brain cells have not been investigated in detail. Here, we analyzed the expression of all zinc transporters (ZnTs) and Irt-like proteins (ZIPs) in the rat brain. We further used primary rat neurons and rat astrocyte cell lines to differentiate between the expression found in neurons or astrocytes or both. We identified ZIP4 expressed in astrocytes but significantly more so in neurons, a finding that has not been reported previously. In neurons, ZIP4 is localized to synapses and found in a complex with major postsynaptic scaffold proteins of excitatory synapses. Synaptic ZIP4 reacts to short-term fluctuations in local zinc levels. We conclude that ZIP4 may have a so-far undescribed functional role at excitatory postsynapses.

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