Law & Neuroscience

  • Read more: The Opioid Crisis Requires Evidence-Based Solutions, Part I: How the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction Misinterpreted Scientific Studies
    Article

    The Opioid Crisis Requires Evidence-Based Solutions, Part I: How the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction Misinterpreted Scientific Studies

    By Mason Marks The opioid crisis kills at least 91 Americans each day and has far-reaching social and economic consequences for us all. As lawmakers explore solutions to the problem, they should ensure that new regulations are based on scientific evidence and reason rather than emotion or political ideology. Though emotions should motivate the creation…

  • Read more: Copenhagen Conference: Legal Perspectives on Synthetic Biology and Gene Editing
    Article

    Copenhagen Conference: Legal Perspectives on Synthetic Biology and Gene Editing

    Join us at the Centre for Information and Innovation Law (CIIR) Faculty of Law, University of Copenhagen on 20 November, 2017 to discuss Legal Perspectives on Synthetic Biology and Gene Editing. CALL FOR PAPERS Emerging technologies in Synthetic Biology and Gene Editing offer incredible opportunities and promising solutions to some of the most urgent challenges faced by…

  • Read more: Innovation and Intellectual Property Policies in European Research Infrastructure Consortia
    Article

    Innovation and Intellectual Property Policies in European Research Infrastructure Consortia

    By Timo Minssen I am happy to announce the publication of our collaborative paper with Helen Yu and Jakob Wested on “Innovation and intellectual property policies in European Research Infrastructure Consortia (part I)” in the Journal of Intellectual Property Law and Practice (Oxford University Press). Taking the European Spallation Source ERIC as an example, our paper investigates ERIC Regulations…

  • 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 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 hearings, is growing closer. The science for identifying a likely pattern of neuroimaging results strongly associated with the subjective sensation of pain keeps improving….

  • 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 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 is an important common thread: The unintended consequences of technology….

  • 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 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 to understand our experience of pain and how the law does or does not adequately…

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

    Emotion and Pain – Beyond “All in Your Head”

    By David Seminowicz 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. In fact, “emotion” is in the very definition of pain. The IASP definition of pain…

  • 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 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 intellectual juiciness – like regulatory issues surrounding neurotechnology. Thank…

  • 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,…

  • Read more: TOMORROW at 12PM: Moral Decisions in the Law: What’s the Brain Got to Do with It?
    Article

    TOMORROW at 12PM: Moral Decisions in the Law: What’s the Brain Got to Do with It?

    Moral Decisions in the Law: What’s the Brain Got to Do with It? April 8, 2015 12:00 PM Harvard Law School Wasserstein Hall, Room 3019 1585 Massachusetts Ave. Cambridge, MA [Map] Law – particularly criminal law – is infused with moral judgment and calls upon prosecutors, judges, and jurors to make morally-informed decisions. But where does…