PEBS Projects

Personal Identity Symposium

Held late in 2004 and funded by a grant from the Greenwall Foundation, with in-kind donation from the Dana

Foundation, this symposium featured a panel of three philosophers and two neuroscientist respondents. The panel presented their views on personal identity and discussed the implications for their views of four medical case studies in which personal identity may be compromised.

Mathews DJH, Bok H, Rabins PV, eds. Personal Identity and Fractured Selves: The self, personal identity and the brain. Johns Hopkins University Press.

Working Group on Interspecific Chimeric Brains

With support from the Greenwall Foundation, two plenary sessions were held to discuss the implications of potential experiments involving transplantation of human stem cells or neural progenitors into nonhuman primate brains.

Greene M, Schill K, Takahashi S, Bateman-House A, Beauchamp T, Bok H, Cheney D, Coyle J, Deacon T, Dennett D, Donovan P, Flanagan O, Goldman S, Greely H, Martin L, Miller E, Mueller D, Siegel A, Solter D, Gearhart J, McKhann G, Faden R. (2005) Ethics: Moral issues of human-non-human primate neural grafting. Science. 309 (5733): 385-6.

Neurotherapeutics July 2007, Volume 4 Issue 3

Debra Mathews and Peter Rabins were guest editors for a special Neuroethics section in Neurotherapeutics. Other PEBS members, including Hilary Bok, had contributions published in this issue of the journal.

Working Group on Human Trials of Cell-Based Interventions for Neurological Conditions

With support from the Greenwall Foundation, this project sought to provide the public, policymakers, biomedical researchers, and those who oversee research with human subjects, in advance of the primary push for human trials, with a thorough and informed analysis of issues involved in moving from basic research to human trials in cell-based interventions for neurological conditions.

Duggan PS, Siegel AW, Bok H, Blass DM, Coyle JT, Faden R, Finkel J, Gearhart JD, Greely HT, Hillis A, Hoke A, Johnson R, Johnston M, Kahn J, Kerr D, Kurtzberg J, Liao SM, McDonald JW, McKhann G, Nelson KB, Rao M, Regenberg A, Smith K, Solter D, Song H, Vescovi A, Young W, Mathews DJH. Unintended Changes in Cognition, Mood, and Behavior Arising from Cell-Based Interventions for Neurological Conditions: Ethical Challenges. (Forthcoming) Am J Bioethics Neurosci.

Regenberg A, Mathews DJH, Bok H, Blass DM, Coyle JT, Duggan PS, Finkel J, Greely HT, Hillis A, Hoke A, Johnson R, Johnston M, Kahn J, Kerr D, Kurtzberg J, Liao SM, McDonald JW, McKhann G, Nelson KB, Rao M, Siegel AW, Smith K, Solter D, Song H, Sugarman J, Vescovi A, Young W, Gearhart JD, Faden R. (2008) The Role of Animal Models in Evaluating Reasonable Safety and Efficacy for Human Trials of Cell-Based Interventions for Neurological Conditions. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab. 2008 Aug 27.

Deep Brain Stimulation for Disorders of Mood, Behavior and Thought: Scientific and Ethical Issues

Funded by NIMH, NINDS and the Dana Foundation, this September 2007 meeting assembled neuroscientists, philosophers, ethicists, and patient representatives to explore issues related to the design and conduct of clinical trials of DBS for disorders of mood, behavior and thought, and to develop guidance for this growing field.

Rabins PV, Appleby BS, Brandt J, DeLong MR, Dunn LB, Gabriëls L, Greenberg BD, Haber SN, Holtzheimer III PE, Mari Z, Mayberg HS, McCann E, Mink SP, Rasmussen S, Schlaepfer TE, Vawter DE, Vitek JL, Walkup J, Mathews DJH (submitted) Scientific and Ethical Issues Related to Deep Brain Stimulation for Disorders of Mood, Behavior and Thought.

Free Will and Moral Responsibility: Implications of Advances in Neuroscience

The overarching goal of this NEH-funded project is to use cutting-edge neuroscientific research to illuminate the nature of moral responsibility. More specifically, to determine whether or not philosophical accounts of free will and moral responsibility are challenged or deepened by current and proposed research in neuroscience as it relates to the neurobiological bases of capacities such as self-governance.