Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
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Neurotechnology,
Global Relations, and
National Security
Shifting Contexts and
Neuroethical Demands
James Giordano
CONTENTS
Neuroscience and Neurotechnology: Assessing—and Accessing—the Brain
and Behavior .............................................................................................................. 1
Neuro S/T in National Security and Defense ............................................................. 2
Paradoxes and Questions ........................................................................................... 4
Addressing Challenges and Opportunities: A Path Forward ..................................... 6
Conclusions ................................................................................................................ 7
Acknowledgments ...................................................................................................... 8
References .................................................................................................................. 8
NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROTECHNOLOGY:
ASSESSING— AND ACCESSING—THE BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR
This volume and topic series address and reveal the reality that neuroscience and
neurotechnology (neuro S/T) have become powerful forces that influence soci-
ety, are influenced by various social forces, and incur a host of ethico-legal and
social issues. Recent governmental and commercial investments in brain science
and neuroengineering reflect growing interest and enthuse advancement(s) in
neuro S/T and the information, products, and potential power these disciplines
may yield. A dimension of this power is derived from the prospect of using
neuro S/T to define—and affect—human nature. Current neuroscientific per-
spectives consider biological organisms to be complex internal environmental
systems nested within complex external environmental systems (Schoner and
Kelso 1985). Interactions within and among systems are based and depend upon
numerous variables within these complex internal and external environments
(Ridley 2003), framed by time, place, culture, and circumstance (Giordano
2011a, 2011b; Giordano et al. 2012).
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