Portfolio 5: If I am a Researcher on Brain Mapping

If I am a researcher of brain mapping, it is very important to think of the possible aspects of unethical abuses of my work. Hence it is necessary to predict as well as to come out preventions to minimize these potential unethical abuses. The following issues are some possible kinds of unethical abuses I should be taking care of.

Firstly, it is unethical to leak out information on a patient’s brain scanning results to other sources besides the hospital itself. This is because the main reason for brain scanning is to check for brain related diseases. If other people manage to obtain that patient’s brain scan data, no one knows what will be done to the data. It might be used for some unethical acts that intrude the privacy of the patient. Although hospitals can store patients’ brain scan data, it should only be used to treat the patients and certainly not be allowed to let other sources obtain the data.

Next, scanning on children should be prohibited at all cost. It may seem reasonable that parents want to know if their children’s brain scans are similar to famous people so that they could understand their children’s talents (Marano, 2003). But I feel that it is still unethical to do so as these children are too small an age to understand brain scanning and it is unfair to them. Therefore, there should be a minimum age to undergo brain scans.

Consent to undergo such brain scanning is a must to every individual. It is unethical to scan someone’s brain without that his/her consent. The uses of the brain scan data should also be known to the person too. As stated in the first point, data should not be leaked out besides authorized personal and should be destroyed after usage of it. Violation of these rules will result in severe punishment.

From the three areas of discussion, it is true that my work will certainly result in potential unethical abuses. Therefore it is important that preventions can be set up to counter the areas of abuses. Scientists, as well as politicians should play a part in deciding the laws with relation to these abuses. After that it is up to the government to set the laws and regulations up so as to prevent and minimize potential abuses of my work.

Lou Marano (2003, June 3). Ethics and Mapping the Brain. (The Washington Times). Retrieved November 8, 2008 from http://www.cognitiveliberity.org/neuro/brain/brain_mapping_ethics.htm