The Brain and Ethics: An Introduction to Research in Neuroethics

respect for Persons Under the first principle, researchers must ensure that participants understand the goals of the research project and the process for data collection: what the research is for, what will be done to them, and what possible risks or benefits may be experienced during or after the study. Once all this information is provided, participants are then asked to provide informed consent. In order to respect a person’s autonomy – or their right to make decisions for themselves – it is important that research participants are aware of their rights and are free to join or leave a study without feeling under pressure. The brain is a complex organ and neuroscientists are using many different methods to try to understand – and perhaps even change – how the human brain works. Before this research can take place; however, researchers must ensure that their work is ethical. In this review article, we introduce the exciting field of neuroethics and describe the three key ethical principles by which all human research studies must abide. We also describe four research studies that neuroethicists at the National Core for neuroethics have carried out to give you an idea of the range of work that is being done by those who are interested in the