Deception in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Psychogenic Non-epileptic Seizures

Event Description
Neurologists who treat epilepsy face substantial difficulty distinguishing “true” seizures caused by abnormal electrical discharges from seizures that are caused by psychological factors (psychogenic nonepileptic seizures, or PNES). The distinction is important, because the treatments for electrical seizures and PNES are very different–PNES can be provoked by a suggestion, whereas electrical seizures cannot. Can doctors ethically use placebos or suggestion in order to provoke psychogenic nonepileptic seizures? If this is deception, is it justified? How much deception is permissible?
Panelists
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Neuroethics Seminar Series
This event is part of a series hosted by the Center for Biothics at Harvard Medical School. For more information, visit the website.