Should normal mental capacity be increased? New research project examined brain doping

BMBF supports German-Canadian research project on ethical, socio-cultural and neuropsychiatric aspects of Cognitive Enhancement

The mental abilities of a person playing an increasingly important role in modern knowledge societies. Against this background, the opportunity is becoming increasingly interested in their own mental performance using psychotropic drugs or other methods over the normal level to increase. While neuroscience can always better explain how our brains work and also whether it statistically "normal" work. What causes such judgments, which is considered accurate than normal, and whether, or how closely an improvement with our values ​​and ethical ideas, examined a new research project at the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. The project brings together research efforts in Philosophy, Psychiatry, Neuroscience and Medicine Ethics and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) of 2008 to 2011 500.000 with around EUR encouraged.

The research project "Normality, Normalization and Enhancement in Neurosciences: Ethical, Sociocultural and Neuropsychiatric Aspects of Cognitive Enhancement" includes three working groups under the umbrella of the Interdisciplinary Research Center for Neurosciences (IFZN), which will in future be run as the Interdisciplinary Research Focus on Neurosciences (IFSN) from the University of Mainz and the University Hospital as well as a team from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver (Canada).

The ethical, sociocultural and neuropsychiatric aspects of cognitive enhancement are examined - i.e. the attempt to improve certain aspects of our cognitive performance such as memory, concentration, attention and alertness through medication and possibly to optimize them permanently in healthy people.

At the Philosophical Seminar, under the direction of Univ.-Prof. Dr. Thomas Metzinger worked on a philosophical-ethical sub-project.

The aim here is to develop suitable criteria for evaluating such an improving intervention based on a detailed analysis of the terms and concepts involved. Central research questions are: Can philosophical ethics provide criteria for differentiating between normal, deviant and pathological behavior? Under what circumstances can normality be allowed to improve? To what extent can there possibly be talk of an obligation to self-optimization in certain contexts? Are there specific problems of equal opportunities or distributive justice in this particular area of ​​application? In addition, the possible effects of current empirical results in neuroscience on applied ethics, the philosophy of mind and philosophical anthropology are examined as part of the sub-project.

The clinic for psychiatry and psychotherapy under the direction of Univ.-Prof. Dr. Klaus Lieb will contribute to the potential effects and modes of action of neurocognitive enhancers currently available on the market and currently being developed. Taking into account and after systematising the current data situation, this subproject aims to collect data on improper consumption behavior in the German population in various population groups. This should allow both qualitative and quantitative statements to be made about potentially neurocognitively effective drugs. These drugs primarily include substances that are used in the pharmacotherapy of attention deficit / hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but also drugs that are used in the treatment of dementia diseases. In addition, attitudes, ethical acceptability and the risk-benefit analysis of various population groups are examined.

The medical historian and medical ethicist Univ.-Prof. Dr. Norbert W. Paul heads a scientific theoretical sub-project at the Institute for the History, Theory and Ethics of Medicine. This deals with medical classification systems and diagnostic tests for brain functions. Because the neuroscientific explanatory models today contribute significantly to the definition of illness and health, but also of cognitive terms such as the ability to concentrate or intelligence and are more and more decisive for our understanding of normal, below-average or above-average mental performance. In particular, the scientific and technological developments that have led to the current explanatory models and applications are also considered. How and how the understanding of cognitive deviations - such as dementia in old age or attention deficit / hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children - has changed is to be clarified in this way.

A Canadian research team, led by Prof. Peter B. Reiner at the National Core for Neuroethics at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, investigates the views and attitudes of clinical professionals towards cognitive enhancement and analyzes the ethical principles underlying these views and attitudes lie. To this end, a survey of doctors, nurses and medical students will be carried out in Canada and Germany.

Source: Mainz [JGU]