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An instrument to capture the phenomenology of implantable brain device use

journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-20, 07:45 authored by Frederic GilbertFrederic Gilbert, Brown, T, Dasgupta, I, Martens, H, Klein, E, Goering, S
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.

Funding

Australian Research Council

History

Publication title

Neuroethics

Pagination

1-9

ISSN

1874-5490

Department/School

College Office - College of Arts, Law and Education

Publisher

Springer Netherlands

Place of publication

Netherlands

Rights statement

Copyright 2019 Springer Nature B.V.

Repository Status

  • Restricted

Socio-economic Objectives

Bioethics; Technological ethics

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