biological debate- the ethics of neuroscience

Question 1

for neuroscience being ethical (understanding criminal behavior)
what is the argument?

Answer 1

neuroscience is ethical because it has helped us understand the basis of some criminal behavior.

Question 2

for neuroscience being ethical (understanding criminal behavior)
what is the evidence?

Answer 2

-raine, buschbaum and lacasse used PET scan techniques to find that there were lower levels of glucose metabolism in the frontal cortex of murderers compared to to non-murderers and also higher levels of glucose metabolism in the right hemisphere amygdala and lower levels in the left hemisphere amygdala.

Question 3

for neuroscience being ethical (understanding criminal behavior)
what is the further evidence?

Answer 3

furthermore, raine et al (1997) found that children with a lower resting heart rate at age 3 were predisposed to aggression at age 11 years. this is a benefit for neuroscience, as raine later found out that identification of this and early intervention such as nutrition, exercise and cognitive stimulation could reduce the risk significantly.

Question 4

for neuroscience being ethical (understanding criminal behavior)
what is the evaluation/link?

Answer 4

this is a strong argument as development in neuroscience has led to a better understanding of what predisposes individuals to criminal behavior and can in turn allow interventions to be put in place to lower crime rates.

Question 5

against neuroscience being ethical (understanding criminal behavior)
what is the argument?

Answer 5

neuroscience is not ethical because using biological predisposition for criminal behavior may not allow criminals to take full responsibility for their actions.

Question 6

against neuroscience being ethical (understanding criminal behavior)
what is the evidence?

Answer 6

-the case of bradley waldrop of tennessee demonstrates this as bradley was on trial for the death penalty after having killed his wife’s friend and violently attacking his wife with a machete.
-using molecular tests and DNA sequencing, professor william bernet, a forensic psychiatrist, presented in court a case of bradley having the low activity variation of the MAOA gene.
-this evidence, in court persuaded the jury to decide on ‘voluntary manslaughter’ as opposed to ‘first degree murder’.

Question 7

against neuroscience being ethical (understanding criminal behavior)
what is the evaluation/link?

Answer 7

this is a valid argument to consider as we need to consider the impact of such decisions on victims and their families seeking justice for wrong.

Question 8

against neuroscience being ethical (understanding criminal behavior)
what is the counter argument?

Answer 8

however, economically, reduced prison sentences, (and death row sentences in the US), would save the government more money. and it could be argued that this money could then be used in more research and preventative of rehabilitation measures which would overall benefit society.

Question 9

for neuroscience being ethical (understanding biological gender differences)
what is the argument?

Answer 9

neuroscience is ethical because it has helped us understand gender differences in brain development.

Question 10

for neuroscience being ethical (understanding biological gender differences)
what is the evidence?

Answer 10

cahill found that brain imaging studies indicated brain differences between males and females. women’s hippocampus (critical to learning and memory) were larger than the men’s, and the men’s amygdala (associated with aggression and fear response) were bigger than the women’s.

Question 11

for neuroscience being ethical (understanding biological gender differences)
what does the evidence suggest?

Answer 11

this suggests that there are significant differences in the brain structure of men and women, supporting the idea of gender differences.

Question 12

for neuroscience being ethical (understanding biological gender differences)
what is the evaluation/link?

Answer 12

this is a strength of neuroscience, as these brain scans can show key biological differences between genders and by understanding the effect differences in brain development between genders has (e.g. reading development, writing, fine and gross motor movement), intervention and appropriate teaching methods can be used to benefit both genders in schools.

Question 13

for neuroscience being ethical (understanding biological gender differences)
what are the social/economic implications?

Answer 13

this is a positive ethical and social economic implication as understanding differences in hormonal surges and brain growth can also offer insight into putting in place intervention and support for the different risk factors for each group (e.g. risk-taking, self-harm, depression etc.)

Question 14

against neuroscience being ethical (understanding biological gender differences)
what is the argument?

Answer 14

neuroscience is not ethical because using neuroscience to highlight difference between males and females can lead to alpha bias (exaggerated differences between men and women).

Question 15

against neuroscience being ethical (understanding biological gender differences)
what is the evidence?

Answer 15

-mondschein (2000) found mothers had lower expectations of baby girls crawling compared to baby boys.
-moss-racusin (2012) found the same job applications from ‘john’ were seen as more competent than those from ‘jennifer’.

Question 16

against neuroscience being ethical (understanding biological gender differences)
what is the evaluation/link?

Answer 16

this is a valid argument to consider as we need to consider the impact that this bias could have leading to certain genders being treated differently or inferior to others.

Question 17

against neuroscience being ethical (understanding biological gender differences)
what are the social/economic implications?

Answer 17

this raises social implications as gender bias could impact the development and skills for certain genders and prevent them accessing the same opportunities as others.

Question 18

for neuroscience being ethical (the use of drug therapy to treat mental disorders)
what is the argument?

Answer 18

neuroscience is ethical because it has helped us understand the use of drug therapy to treat mental disorders.

Question 19

for neuroscience being ethical (the use of drug therapy to treat mental disorders)
what is the evidence?

Answer 19

-cole et al (1964) 75% of those given typical antipsychotics were considered to be ‘much improved’ compared with 25% of those given a placebo.
-davis et al found that short term beneficial effect (first 6 months) in 75% of patients and later found long term beneficial effect in 55-60% of patients.

Question 20

for neuroscience being ethical (the use of drug therapy to treat mental disorders)
what is the evaluation/link?

Answer 20

-this is a strength of neuroscience as it shows how using drug therapy can create a significant improvement in the treatment of mental disorders by altering levels of dopamine in the brain.
-the use of drug therapy can allow for patients with mental disorders to be given the treatment they need for their mental wellbeing.
-therefore neuroscience is ethical because it can allow a ethically proven way for mental disorders to be treated.

Question 21

against neuroscience being ethical (the use of drug therapy to treat mental disorders)
what is the argument?

Answer 21

neuroscience is not ethical because using drug therapy to treat mental disorders can cause harmful side effects.

Question 22

against neuroscience being ethical (the use of drug therapy to treat mental disorders)
what is the evidence?

Answer 22

-side effects found from antipsychotics:
*tardive dyskinesia-grimace/lip-smacking- 20% of patients if taking the drug for over a year (this can be permanent)
*akathisia- parkinson’s type symptoms- postural and motor abnormalities
*weight gain, seizures, concentration/blurry vision
*patients taking atypical drugs will need to have regular blood tests to check their white blood cells due to the risk of agranulocytosis.

Question 23

against neuroscience being ethical (the use of drug therapy to treat mental disorders)
what is the evaluation/link?

Answer 23

this is a valid argument to consider as we need to be aware of the dangers of drug therapy to treat mental disorders and how in a lot of cases using drug therapy can make individuals circumstances worse.
-this shows that neuroscience is not ethical as it highlights the harm that can be caused to patients by using certain techniques such as drug therapy.