Chronic Pain

  • Read more: What Should the Future Look Like for Brain-Based Pain Imaging in the Law? Three Eminent Scholars Weigh In
    Article

    What Should the Future Look Like for Brain-Based Pain Imaging in the Law? Three Eminent Scholars Weigh In

    By Amanda C. Pustilnik, Professor of Law, University of Maryland Carey School of Law; Faculty Member, Center for Law, Brain & Behavior, Massachusetts General Hospital What should the future look like for brain-based pain measurement in the law?  This is the question tackled by our concluding three contributors:  Diane Hoffmann, Henry (“Hank”) T. Greely, and…

  • Read more: Neuroimaging as Evidence of Pain: It’s Time to Prepare
    Article

    Neuroimaging as Evidence of Pain: It’s Time to Prepare

    By Henry T. Greely, Edelman Johnson Professor of Law, Stanford Law School; Professor (by courtesy) of Genetics, Stanford Medical School; Director, Program in Neuroscience & Society, Stanford University The recent meeting at Harvard on neuroimaging, pain, and the law demonstrated powerfully that the offering of neuroimaging as evidence of pain, in court and in administrative…

  • Read more: Of Algorithms, Algometry, and Others: Pain Measurement & The Quantification of Distrust
    Article

    Of Algorithms, Algometry, and Others: Pain Measurement & The Quantification of Distrust

    By Frank Pasquale, Professor of Law, University of Maryland Carey School of Law Many thanks to Amanda for the opportunity to post as a guest in this symposium. I was thinking more about neuroethics half a decade ago, and my scholarly agenda has, since then, focused mainly on algorithms, automation, and health IT. But there…

  • Read more: An ELSI Program for Pain Research: A Call to Action
    Article

    An ELSI Program for Pain Research: A Call to Action

    By Diane Hoffmann, Director, Law & Health Care Program; Professor of Law; University of Maryland School of Law As someone who has been greatly concerned about and devoted much of my scholarship to legal obstacles to the treatment of pain, I applaud Professor Pustilnik for increasing attention to the role of neuroimaging in our efforts…

  • Read more: Emotion and Pain – Beyond “All in Your Head”
    Article

    Emotion and Pain – Beyond “All in Your Head”

    By David Seminowicz, Principal Investigator, Seminowicz Pain Imaging Lab, Department of Neural and Pain Sciences, University of Maryland A potential difficulty, but also an opportunity, relating to using neuroimaging evidence in legal cases arises from the difficulty brain researchers have in separating emotional and physical pain. We know that pain and emotion are tightly linked….

  • Read more: Some Optimism on Brains, Pain, & Law – Let’s See What We Can Achieve
    Article

    Some Optimism on Brains, Pain, & Law – Let’s See What We Can Achieve

    By Martha Farah, Director, University of Pennsylvania Center for Neuroscience & Society Neurolaw includes some fascinating issues that lack any practical legal significance – for example whether we should consider anyone responsible for anything they do, given that all behavior is physically caused by brain processes.  It also includes some legally important issues that lack…

  • Read more: Pain-o-meters: How – and Why – Should We Develop Them?
    Article

    Pain-o-meters: How – and Why – Should We Develop Them?

    By Karen Davis The prevalence of chronic pain is staggering.  The Institute of Medicine reported in 2011 that 100 million Americans suffer from chronic pain – more than those with heart disease, cancer and diabetes combined.  The report also highlights that the annual costs for medical care, lost wages and productivity is more than $600B. …

  • Read more: Pain on the Brain: A Week of Guest Posts on Pain Neuroimaging & Law
    Article

    Pain on the Brain: A Week of Guest Posts on Pain Neuroimaging & Law

    By Amanda C. Pustilnik This week, the Petrie-Flom Center of Harvard Law School and the Center for Law, Brain & Behavior (CLBB) at Massachusetts General Hospital are hosting a series of posts on how brain imaging can help the law address issues of physical and emotional pain. Our contributors are world leaders in their fields,…