Imaging Body Structure and Mapping Brain Function: A Historical Approach

37 Pages Posted: 7 Nov 2010

See all articles by Stacey A. Tovino

Stacey A. Tovino

University of Nevada, Las Vegas, William S. Boyd School of Law

Date Written: 2007

Abstract

Now in its second decade, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) localizes changes in blood oxygenation that occur in the brain when an individual performs a mental task. Physicians and scientists use fMRI not only to map sensory, motor, and cognitive functions, but also to study the neural correlates of a range of sensitive and potentially stigmatizing conditions, behaviors, and characteristics. Poised to move outside the traditional clinical and research contexts, fMRI raises a number of ethical, legal, and social issues that are being explored within a burgeoning neuroethics literature. In this Article, I place these issues in their proper historical context. The ethical, legal, and social issues raised by advances in functional neuroimaging are challenging and somewhat distinctive, but they are not entirely new. Earlier methods of body imaging and brain mapping, including phrenology, x-ray, positron emission tomography, and single-photon emission computed tomography, raised similar issues, and perhaps we can use our experiences with these sciences and technologies to help guide current functional neuroimaging policy.

Keywords: functional magnetic resonance imaging, medical ethics, neuroimaging, neuroscience

Suggested Citation

Tovino, Stacey Ann, Imaging Body Structure and Mapping Brain Function: A Historical Approach (2007). American Journal of Law and Medicine, Vol. 33, p. 193, 2007, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1703579

Stacey Ann Tovino (Contact Author)

University of Nevada, Las Vegas, William S. Boyd School of Law ( email )

4505 South Maryland Parkway
Box 451003
Las Vegas, NV 89154
United States

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