Hacking the Brain: Neuroenhancement with Noninvasive Brain Stimulation

Noninvasive brain stimulation technologies have exploded in popularity over recent years.

Technologies such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) have been shown to effectively improve numerous neurological functions, including cognitive skills, motor ability, and mood. Though these improvements have frequently been intended for those with disabilities, studies have shown that these technologies can instill similar improvements in healthy individuals.

The prospect of using noninvasive brain stimulation for neuroenhancement in healthy individuals generates a host of ethical questions: What constitutes normal versus impaired ability? Which neurological functions can be ethically improved, and which, if any, should remain unchanged? What are the possible detriments of noninvasive brain stimulation? And with these technologies rapidly growing, what does a future of commonplace neuroenhancement look like?

** PANEL **

Hank Greely, JD, Director of the Center for Law and the Biosciences at Stanford Law School.
Alvaro Pascual-Leone, MD PhD, Director of the Berenson-Allen Center for Noninvasive Brain Stimulation at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

Jamie Tyler, PhD, the CSO at Thync, a company that manufactures noninvasive brain stimulation technologies for a consumer market.

** Co-sponsored by: **

The Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics, HLS
Center for Law, Brain, and Behavior, MGH
Institute for the Neurosciences, BWH
Mind Brain Behavior Interfaculty Initiative, Harvard University
Center for Brain Science, Harvard University
Department of Neurobiology, HMS

** With funding from: **

Mind Brain Behavior Interfaculty Initiative, Harvard University
The Harvard Brain Initiative Collaborative Seed Grant Program