A Threat to Autonomy? The Intrusion of Predictive Brain Implants

Abstract

The world's first-in-human clinical trial using invasive intelligent brain devices—devices that predict specific neuronal events directly to the implanted person—has been completed with significant success. Predicting brain activity before specific outcomes occur brings a raft of unprecedented applications, especially when implants offer advice on how to respond to the neuronal events forecasted. Although these novel predictive and advisory implantable devices offer great potential to positively affect patients following surgery by enhancing quality of life (e.g., provide control over symptoms), substantial ethical concerns remain. The invasive nature of these novel devices is not unique; however, the inclusion of predictive and advisory functionalities within the implants, involving permanent monitoring of brain activity in real time, raises new ethical issues to explore, especially in relation to concerns for patient autonomy. What might be the effects of ongoing monitoring of predictive and advisory brain technologies on a patient's postoperative sense of autonomy? The role played by predictive and advisory implantable brain devices on patient's feelings of autonomy following surgery is completely unknown. The first section of this article addresses this shortcoming by reporting on a pilot study that we conducted with one of the patients implanted with one of these novel brain devices. The second section examines how overreliance on predictive and advisory brain technologies may threaten patients' autonomy. The third section looks into ethical problems concerning how devices delivering automated therapeutic responses might, hypothetically speaking, be used to monitor and control individual's autonomy through inhibition of undesirable behaviors.

Keywords:

• advisory system
• automated control
• autonomy
• brain
• brain implants
• predictive brain devices
• undesirable behaviors

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

We would like to thank AJOB Neuroscience anonymous reviewers and editors for their insightful comments.

FUNDING

Dr. Frederic Gilbert is the recipient of an Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (project number DE150101390). Funding from the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence Scheme (Project Number CE 140100012) is gratefully acknowledged.▪

Notes

1. This study pilot was conducted in accordance to Tasmanian Human Research Ethics Committee regulations. Patient Consent and Minimal Risk Ethics Application Approval, entitled “(H0013883) Implantable Seizure Advisory Brain Devices: Ethical Implications,” and conformed to Tasmanian Human Research Ethics Committee regulations. Ethical approval was obtained in March 2013.