Challenges and perspectives of brain science in Mongolia and Central Asian countries

"What is the origin of the mind?", "What is the organ of intelligence?" The first answers to these questions trace to the scripts of ancient Sumeria and Egypt. It took almost 4000 years to understand that the brain is the main organ that controls other organs. The dawn of modern neuroscience lay in the 1890s when the pioneering works of Camillo Golgi and Ramon Cajal invented the structure of the nervous system using microscope techniques. Cajal's neuron doctrine, which hypothesizes that the functional unit of the brain is the neuron, has become the main concept that explains the mind and body interactions.

From Neuroethics to Neo-romanticism. Aldous Huxley in Response to Current Proposals for Ethical and Legal Regulation of Neuroscience

The neuroethics field emerged in the early 2000s in an effort to face important philosophical dilemmas and anticipate disruptive social changes linked to the use of neurotechnology (Safire, 2002). From very early on, this field grew out of two core issues, namely inquiries into the ethics of neuroscience –concerning the moral use of knowledge and technology– and inquiries into the neuroscience of ethics –on how new brain function evidence can change human self-understanding (Roskies 2002). Similarly, neurolaw is now on a parallel path with two main pillars as Chandler (2018) suggested, (1) “self-reflexive inquiry” (the neuroscience of law) and (2) “inquiry into the development and use of brain science and technologies” (the law of neuroscience). In this paper, I suggest that these two lines of research are still excessively disconnected from one another and, to support this claim, I analyze the three potential point-of-no-return risks that Aldous Huxley associated with technological challenges, namely centralization of power, bureaucratic alienation, and scientific idealism. In addition, I show how Huxley shifted analysis of technological problems from a focus on the rights of potential victims to the duties of potential aggressors. Finally, I argue that Aldous Huxley’s view on how to build a bridge that brings pillars 1) and 2) closer together also helps prevent the technological point-of-no-return. According to Huxley, the key is found in paying particular attention to understanding contemplative activity, reinforcing its role in the study of reality, and, eventually, returning the romantic gaze updated to academia.

Mongolian Neuroscience Society (MNS) - The 8th Annual Meeting of the Mongolian Neuroscience Society and IBRO-APRC Ulaanbaatar Associate School on Fundamental Techniques in Neuroscience 2021

In 2021, the Mongolian Neuroscience Society (MNS), together with the International Brain Research Organization (IBRO) and the Mongolian National University of Medical Sciences (MNUMS), organized two events: The 8th Annual Meeting of the Mongolian Neuroscience Society themed as "Multidisciplinary Brain Science 2021" and the IBRO-APRC Ulaanbaatar Associate School on Fundamental Techniques in Neuroscience. Multidisciplinary Brain Science 2021 aimed to bring together scientists with brain science-related backgrounds under an umbrella meeting consisting of educational lectures and academic connections. It was held with 14 invited lecturers and 20 speakers for two days virtually from August 13 to 14, 2021. The meeting was streamed live on social media, which brought together 2.6K online viewers. The goal of the IBRO-APRC Associate School on Fundamental Techniques in Neuroscience was to enable students to understand the theoretical and practical fundamentals of neuroscience. This virtual school was formed by 20 students and 16 faculty members from 5 countries. The students participated in lectures, technical talks, interactive discussions, and hands-on sessions on responsible conduct of research in neuroscience with a high neuroethical standard during the 6-day program. The events were a great success, offering a unique opportunity for the participants to get updated with current advances in brain science by global and regional experts in neuroscience and facilitate academic collaborations.

Why We Must Raise the Age of Juveniles: A Scientific Review

Since 1971, the age at which people are no longer considered juveniles in the eyes of the law has been 18 years old. However, given that 18–25-year-olds have the highest rate of crime of all age groups, it is clear that prison is not working well to prevent future crimes of this specific group; The system in place is failing these ages. Neuroscience evidence has proven that the brain is still maturing after 18 years-old, especially in brain regions related to criminal behavior and instincts. In this paper, using evidence from neuroscience, I propose that the age of adulthood in the courtroom must be revised to reflect new discoveries in brain science.

A Hitchhiker’s Guide to Brain Science on Planet Earth

This section of the Guide explains how the human species found on planet Earth attempt to study their own brains and behaviour, and what they have found so far. The answer seems to be that they use highly implausible methods and haven’t really worked anything out just yet. But careful inspection reveals that that is OK, because they weren’t actually all that interested in finding out the right answer in the first place.