Gray Matters

Classroom Discussion Guide on Ethics and Neuroscience

This guide provides discussion questions and topics based on the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues’ report Gray Matters: Topics at the Intersection of Neuroscience, Ethics, and Society (Gray Matters, Vol. 2), to help instructors integrate ethics discussions into a high school or college science course.

The discussion guide presents the three topics addressed by the Bioethics Commission: 1) cognitive enhancement, 2) consent capacity, and 3) neuroscience and the courtroom. Relevant questions for classroom discussion are also provided.

Vulnerable Populations in Gray Matters

Learning Objectives

Students should be able to:

  1. Describe the ways in which individuals with impaired consent capacity are a vulnerable population.
     

For Researchers: Neuroscience and Consent Capacity

In March 2015, the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues (Bioethics Commission) released its report, Gray Matters: Topics at the Intersection of Neuroscience, Ethics, and Society (Gray Matters, Vol. 2).

Informed Consent in Gray Matters

Learning Objectives

Students should be able to:

1. Describe the three foundational domains of ethical conduct in scientific research.

2. Discuss various approaches to integrating ethics early and explicitly throughout the research endeavor.

3. Describe how integration of ethics and science promotes ethical research design.

 

Research Design in Gray Matters: Integrative Approaches for Neuroscience, Ethics, and Society (Gray Matters, Vol. 1)

Learning Objectives

Students should be able to:

1. Describe the three foundational domains of ethical conduct in scientific research.

2. Discuss various approaches to integrating ethics early and explicitly throughout the research endeavor.

3. Describe how integration of ethics and science promotes ethical research design.

 

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This is a work of the U.S. Government and is not subject to copyright protection in the United States. Foreign copyrights may apply.