Abstract
Patients who have undergone deep brain stimulation (DBS) for emerging indications have unique perspectives on ethical challenges that may shape trial design and identify key design features for BCI-driven DBS systems. DBS research in cognitive and emotional disorders has generated significant ethical interest. Much of this work has focused on developing ethical guidelines and recommendations for open-loop DBS systems. While early trials of open-loop DBS for depression gave disappointing results, research is moving toward clinical trials with closed-loop or patient-controllable DBS systems that may modulate aspects of personality and emotion. Though user-centered design is an increasingly important principle in neurotechnology, the perspectives of implanted individuals on ethical issues raised by DBS are poorly understood. We solicited those perspectives through a focus group and set of qualitative interviews of participants in trials of DBS for depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder. We identified four major themes: control over device function, authentic self, relationship effects, and meaningful consent. Each has implications for the design of closed-loop systems for non-motor disorders.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 140-148 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Brain-Computer Interfaces |
Volume | 3 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jul 2 2016 |
Keywords
- closed-loop
- deep brain stimulation
- end-user perspectives
- ethics
- patient-controlled
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biomedical Engineering
- Human-Computer Interaction
- Behavioral Neuroscience
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering