Meeting Program

Themed ‘Honoring our History, Forging our Future,’ the 2017 Annual Meeting of the International Neuroethics Society will gather a diverse group of scholars, scientists, clinicians, and professionals dedicated to the responsible use of advances in brain science. Join old friends and new colleagues for an intellectually stimulating and dynamic conference that pays homage to the first 15 years of neuroethics and highlights critical topics that will shape its future.

 

Thursday, November 9

 

1:00–1:05 PM

Welcome

• Judy Illes & Cynthia Kubu, INS Program Committee Co-Chairs

 

Plenary Lecture (1:05–1:35 PM)

Rémi Quirion

Chief Scientist of Québec

• Introduction by Ariel Cascio, Institut de recherches cliniques de Montréal
• Neuroethics: The Early Days and Global Challenges for Us All – The lecture will summarize the early days of neuroethics — including the decision by the institute of neuroscience, mental health and addiction of Canada to make it a priority niche area — and will also explore some of the key challenges of neuroethics in the post-truth and alternative facts era.

 

1:35–3:00 PM

Neuroscience, Communication, and Public Engagement

Every day, newspapers, television, radio and social media carry stories about the brain. Advances in neuroscience, mental health, new technology, neurodegeneration provide a rich resource for journalists and broadcasters. There is no doubt that people are fascinated by the brain in health and disease. As brain research finds its way into the classroom, office, courts and the home, how can experts stimulate public discussion and debate about the social, legal and ethical aspects and implications of brain research? What are the opportunities for scientists to communicate with the public? And what are the responsibilities today's experts have to get their message across in a meaningful way? For those just starting out in their careers, how can they get involved?

• Introduction by Elaine Snell, INS
• Moderated by Alan Leshner, AAAS Emeritus
• Joseph J. Fins, Weill Cornell Medical College
• Tali Sharot, University College London
• Ed Yong, The Atlantic

 

Break (3:00–3:30 PM)

 

3:30–5:00 PM

Ambassador Session: Reflecting on our International Roots and Planning our Collaborative Futures

The International Ambassador Program aims to facilitate greater global representation in the Society by recruiting leading scholars and thought leaders in neuroethics to act as liaisons between their respective local neuroethics efforts and the INS. Convening these leaders has become especially important as countries across the globe have made a clear priority to embed neuroethics scholarship and research in these projects or to emphasize its role in parallel. The program and annual meeting activities celebrate INS's commitment to international dialogue on critical issues at the intersection of neuroscience, society, and ethics. Panelists for this year's session include representatives from national-level funded project for neuroscience, as well as embedded ethicists within those projects, and will discuss how neuroethics questions addressed within each project reflect the cultural context of the countries in which they are situated. The session will serve as an idea incubator and include a group discussion for deeper, actionable collaboration across projects and across institutions.  

• Moderator: Karen Rommelfanger, Emory University (United States)
• Co-Moderator: Ariel Cascio, Institut de recherches cliniques de Montréal (Canada)
• Jinni Jeong, Korea Brain Initiative (South Korea)
• Caroline Montojo, The Kavli Foundation (International)
• Khara Ramos, Neuroethics Division of the BRAIN Multi-Council Working Group, NIH (United States)
• Arleen Salles, Human Brain Project (European Union)

 

Break (5:00–5:30 PM)

 

Public Program (5:30–7:00 PM)

To Tell the Truth!

This panel discussion was organized in collaboration with the INS, the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The event is open to the public. RSVP when registering for the INS meeting or through the separate AAAS registration form.

• Moderated by Deborah Runkle, AAAS
• Charles Dike, Yale University School of Medicine
• Elizabeth Loftus, University of California, Irvine
• Victoria Talwar, McGill University

 

7:00–8:00 PM

Evening Reception

 

Reservation (8:30 PM)

Affinity Group Dinners

Confirm details and your participation at the registration table.

 

 

Friday, November 10

 

Breakfast (7:30–8:30 AM)

 

7:45–8:30 AM

Poster Judging

During breakfast, judges will be evaluating poster presentations. Posters must be installed by 7:45 a.m. to be eligible for prizes and presenters should be available during breakfast to give a quick overview for the judges. Contact INS staff to volunteer to serve as a judge.

 

8:30–8:35 AM

Welcome

Cynthia Kubu, INS Program Committee Co-Chair

 

8:35–8:45 AM

Steven E. Hyman Award for Distinguished Service to the Field of Neuroethics

Judy Illes, INS President, will present the award in honor of the late William Safire, accepted by The Dana Foundation

 

Plenary Lecture (8:45–9:15 AM)

Arthur Caplan

New York University Langone Medical Center

• Introduction by Rachel Wurzman, University of Pennsylvania
• Where the ethics are and ought to be – enhancement, diagnosis or treatment? – Much of neuroethics is focused on issues around enhancement and transhumanism. Too much in my view. The future of the field depends on engaging pressing diagnostic and therapeutic opportunities. Dystopian tomorrows are fun to speculate about, but neuroethics won't flourish if it is only seen as a branch of futurology.

 

9:15–10:30 AM

The Brain in Context

A multidisciplinary discussion of the brain in its physical and social environment. Brains exist not in static isolation, but in a constant state of neurodevelopment. Brain development is impacted by environmental factors, and the context of lived experience is embodied through the brain. The speakers on this panel will consider the impact of physical and social environments on the human brain, and the impact of the human brain on those environments in turn. In this way they explore how people and societies impact each other, and how brains develop across the lifecycle in a range of social environments.

• Introduction by Tim Brown, University of Washington
• Moderated by Husseini Manji, Johnson & Johnson
• Moriah Thomason, Wayne State University
• Martha Farah, University of Pennsylvania
• Hervé Chneiweiss, Ecole des Neurosciences de Paris

 

Break (10:30–11:00 AM)

 

11:00 AM–12:15 PM

Legal Responsibility, Agency, and Addiction Neuroethics: Reconciling Frameworks for Policymaking

The speakers on this panel will bring together medical, neurophilosophical, and judicial viewpoints to explore how neurological and biopsychosocial frameworks for addiction relate to legal constructs and social policies that assign responsibility. Understanding addiction as a brain-based disease presents unique challenges to the criminal justice system, which must assign responsibility and punishment for what amounts to the hallmark symptoms of an illness. Yet real-world alternatives to mandatory incarceration for drug-related criminal offenses, from drug courts that mandate treatment to full decriminalization, are also neuroethically fraught. For example, from both clinical and societal perspectives, it is problematic to absolve individuals of the consequences of their behavior; similarly, compulsory submission to treatment may violate patient autonomy and compromise treatment efficacy. Ultimately, the issue of addiction sits at the nexus of questions about moral agency, volition, autonomy, responsibility, and the distribution of justice under various social policies.

• Introduction by Edith Brignoni-Pérez, Georgetown University
• Moderated by Hans-Ulrich Wittchen, TU Dresden
• Rachel Wurzman, University of Pennsylvania Medical School
• Jessica Birkett, University of Melbourne
• Stephen J. Morse, University of Pennsylvania Law School

 

Lunch (12:15 AM–1:30 PM)

 

12:30–1:15 PM

Mentoring Roundtables

During lunch, the INS Program and Student/Postdoc committees are hosting a mentoring roundtable activity. Mentors will lead an open discussion and provide insights and advice about writing, grant applications, and jobs / career tracks in the field of neuroethics. If you would like to participate as a mentor or mentee, please indicate your availability when registering for the meeting.

 

Concurrent I (1:30 PM–2:15 PM, AUDITORIUM)

Ethics of Neuroscience and Neurotechnology

• Moderated by Tom Buller, Illinois State University
• Frederic Gilbert, University of Washington
• Merlin Bittlinger, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin
• Anna Wexler, University of Pennsylvania

 

Concurrent II (1:30 PM–2:15 PM, REVELLE)

Neuroscience of the Law

• Moderated by Molly Crockett, Yale University
• Andreas Kuersten, University of Pennsylvania Law School
• Nicholas Sinclair-House, University of Sussex
• Jason Kerkmans, MINDSET

 

Rising Star Plenary Lecture (2:15–2:45 PM)

Karola Kreitmair

Stanford University

• Introduction by Christine Grady, National Institutes of Health Clinical Center
• The Seven Requirements for Ethical Consumer Neurotechnologies – Kreitmair will outline seven criteria that she considers to be necessary and sufficient for the ethical development of neurotechnologies intended directly for consumers. She will then consider and provide responses to a number of objections.

 

2:45–3:20 PM

Flash Poster Presentations

• Introductions by Veljko Dubljevic, North Carolina State University
• Matthew L Baum, Harvard Medical School
• Laura Specker Sullivan, Harvard Medical School
• Cynthia Forlini, University of Sydney
• Jennifer C. Sarrett, Emory University
• Dylan Roskams-Edris, University of Calgary / University of British Columbia

 

3:20–4:20 PM

Poster Session

Browse poster presentations and network with authors and colleagues. Reference the complete list of accepted abstracts or the onsite list poster presentations for additional details.

 

Fred Kavli Distinguished Neuroethics Lecture (4:20–5:00 PM)

Patricia Churchland

University of California, San Diego, Emeritus

• Introduction by Philipp Kellmeyer, University of Freiburg Medical Center
• Neuroethics: Progress in Understanding our Social Lives – In the years since that first memorable neuroethics meeting in San Francisco in 2002, have we learned more about the brain basis for moral behavior? Yes, and remarkably so. Two lanes of brain research that are especially relevant to understanding the basis for morality have blossomed: first, social neuroscience is revealing the underpinnings of social bonding and why we trust and care about family and friends. This is the platform for morality. Secondly, research on the wiring supporting reinforcement learning is revealing how we acquire norms and values, along with the powerful feelings that accompany them and influence decisions. These are the social behaviors that take shape on the platform. What remains poorly understood is social problem solving — how social norms emerge or are modified in response to ecological and other pressures. These are the social institutions, from modest to monumental, that give direction and predictability in a culture.

 

5:00–6:00 PM

Business Meeting / Awards Presentation

• Society updates from Judy Illes, INS President
• Student/Postdoc Essay Contest winners presented by Michael Patterson
• Abstract and poster presentation awards presented by Veljko Dubljevic, North Carolina State University
• Announcements from sponsors, partners and members

 

6:00–7:30 PM

Closing Reception

 

 

Attendees must register to participate in this event. Online registration is now closed. Register when arriving Thursday or Friday.

Registration Rates