Neuroimaging research
continues to engage the imaginations of scientists, members of the media, and
the general public. As an area of human subject research, it also raises a
number of research ethics issues that, while not necessarily unique to
neuroimaging, offer particular challenges in this growing domain. Here, we
consider a number of the key research ethics issues that are emerging as being
of central importance to the continued development of this field. We will
situate our discussion within the Canadian framework, but many of the issues
raised will have broad jurisdictional relevance. While providing a comprehensive
examination of all of the research ethics issues implicated by neuroimaging
research is beyond the scope of this review, it is hoped that this paper will
serve as a useful overview and guide to researchers, research ethics boards, and
others interested in neuroimaging research. Co-authored by Ciara Toole, Amy
Zarzeczny, Timothy Caulfield and published in
International Neurolaw: A
Comparative Analysis, T.M. Spranger (ed.) Springer,
2012.
Bennett Jones