Ethical concerns

[Stefan Andersson]

Feel free to comment on a comment by Phil Corlett 8 july 2013

 

 

Quote: "Researchers across our field (even those relatively less interested in the brain) are deeply concerned with causalityfrom those geneticists or epidemiologists assessing the relationships between genes or cannabis exposure and illness onset to those phenomenologists concerned with how patients describe their thoughts and actions as lacking causal agency. For the most part, all of our observations are correlational. Anything more causal, with a few exceptions (Corlett et al., 2009), would entail ethical concerns. Causality is particularly problematic for those of us concerned with the neuronal mechanisms of symptom generation. Are the neural signals we observe with functional neuroimaging of patients with psychotic symptoms, for example, a cause of those symptoms or a consequence of having distressing and distracting experiences in the scanner?" Source: Schizophrenia research forum

 

http://www.schizophreniaforum.org/pap/annotation.asp?powID=169761#

[davidivad]

personally i think genes may play a role in the mechanics as to which the brain works. anything based upon the physical characteristics of the brain are subject to it (a house must comply with its foundation as it is an extension built upon it.

 

as far as the effects of cannabis upon the functions of the brain, there are clear indications as to a clear eventual difference in the functioning of the brain. off topic so to speak, is the anti convulsive effects of one of marijuana's main constituents that may prove to be an effective alternative to the damaging cumulative effects of anti psychotics. there are already strains that are great for epileptics that do not have the "fun" effects of the typical strain. there are many instances where anti convulsants are an effective contribution to the treatment of schizophrenia.

 

Being put into an MRI can be an uncomfortable experience and definitely could have an impact upon the results when measuring such aspects of the brain. i would consider that a higher number of scans will help but may not completely address the problem.

Edited April 13, 2014 by davidivad