Description
Book SynopsisNeurotechnology and Direct Brain Communication focuses on recent neuroscientific investigations of infant brains and of patients with disorders of consciousness (DOC), both of which are at the forefront of contemporary neuroscience. The prospective use of neurotechnology to access mental states in these subjects, including neuroimaging, brain simulation, and brain computer interfaces, offers new opportunities for clinicians and researchers, but has also received specific attention from philosophical, scientific, ethical, and legal points of view. This book offers the first systematic assessment of these issues, investigating the tools neurotechnology offers to care for verbally non-communicative subjects and suggesting a multidisciplinary approach to the ethical and legal implications of ordinary and experimental practices.
The book is divided into three parts: the first and second focus on the scientific and clinical implications of neurological tools for DOC patient
Table of Contents
Introduction PART I 1. The Emergence of Consciousness: From foetal to newborn life 2. Mapping Mind-Brain Development 3. Cognitive capacities of the infant mind — a neuroimaging perspective 4. Neural Infantese. Detecting pain and suffering in preverbal infants by means of neuro-technological communication PART II 5. Does task-evoked activity entail consciousness in vegetative state? “Neuronal-phenomenal inference” versus “neuronal-phenomenal dissociation” 6. Neurotechnological communication with patients with disorders of consciousness 7. Instrumental assessment of residual consciousness in DOCs PART III 8. Ethical and deontological issues in paediatric clinical studies: an analysis of documents from national and international institutions 9. Disorders of consciousness and informed consent 10. Brain-Imaging and Privacy Concerns Conclusion
