Neuroethics

Neuroethics is a relatively new, interdisciplinary field, centered around the intersection of bioethics and neuroscience. It has aptly been described as “the ethics of neuroscience and the neuroscience of ethics” [1]. With the emergence of neuroscience as a scientific discipline, and its profound implications for human self-understanding, researchers and clinicians alike are faced with the moral imperative to navigate the myriad ethical challenges that permeate their field [2, 3]. The blistering pace of neuroscientific advances has in turn made neuroethics a rapidly burgeoning field. Neuroethics concerns itself with the ethical, societal, legal, and philosophical questions uncovered through neuroscience advances (Fig. 16.1). Neurotechnology and neurostimulator devices are now in common use, bringing with them a host of neuroethical considerations [4, 5].