One important concern regarding implantable Brain Computer Interfaces (BCI) is the fear that the intervention will negatively change a patient’s sense of identity or agency. In particular, there is concern that the user will be psychologically worse-off following treat20 ment despite postoperative functional improvements. Clinical observations from similar implantable brain technologies, such as deep brain stimulation (DBS), show a small but significant proportion of patients report feelings of strangeness or difficulty adjusting to a new concept of themselves characterized by a maladaptive je ne sais quoi despite clear motor improvement. Despite the growing number of cases in the DBS literature, there is currently no accepted or standardized tool in neuroethics specifically designed to capture the phenomenological postoperative experience of patients implanted with DBS or BCI devices. Given potential risks of postoperative maladaptation, it is important for the field of neuroethics to develop a qualitative instrument that can serve as a shared method for capturing postoperative variations in patient experience of identity and agency. The goal of this article is to introduce an instrument we have developed for this purpose and call for further neuroethical efforts to assess the phenomenology of implantable brain device use.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	agency, deep brain stimulation, identity, instrument, implant, personality, phenomenology, self, side effects
Research Division:	Philosophy and Religious Studies
Research Group:	Applied ethics
Research Field:	Ethical use of new technology
Objective Division:	Culture and Society
Objective Group:	Ethics
Objective Field:	Bioethics
UTAS Author:	Gilbert, F (Dr Frederic Gilbert)
ID Code:	135411
Year Published:	2019
Funding Support:	Australian Research Council (DE150101390)
Deposited By:	Philosophy and Gender Studies
Deposited On:	2019-10-17
Last Modified:	2021-05-12
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