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NEUROLAW Around the World (w. Daft Punk)
Starting with Australia, thier legal system “has not been receptive to new neuroscientific technology. Current case law and legislative provisions demonstrate the hurdles imposed by the rigorous admissibility standards”. (via)
In Austria, there isn’t much research to pull from, so they take The Big Neurolaw Questions and apply them to Austrian law. (via) It’s a start.
Brazil is challenged by the divide between science and law, but recent cases and interest show promise in moving forward with the inevitable merge. (via)
Canada talks about the ethics of neuroimaging in research, as they do.
Most places do not have regulations in place for neuroscientific research so “legislation on medical research has been taken as a starting point for the legal analysis”, like in beautiful Finland! (via)
And check France out: “As a reaction to the rapid developments in modern neurosciences, the French legislator proposed the implementation of neuroscientific rules in the French Law on Bioethics in January 2010.” Neuroscientific research remains a hot button and all and the source of much debate, but, “Even if these procedures are not yet a daily occurrence in France, it is an important time to consider the civil, criminal, and constitutional consequences in a second step”. Real action. (via) OOh LA LA!
The Germans see no other way than to champion neuroscientific research. They will not be stopped! And that’s cool with me. (via)
Greece, ever proud of the “innovative spirit” they have showed with revising the legislature when biomedical research calls for it, leads them to consider in this overview, that neuroscience research would follow the same form. (via)
Italy? Lov u. Looking at deception and dipping into free will and neurotechnology, the Italian review discusses their case law on “the concept of “moral damage” and the opportunities that neurotechniques offer in order to have a more objective evaluation”. (via) Niiice.
Guess who is talking about regulations for neuroethics and neurolaw? Japan. And it looks like bioethics stuff is a real sticky area, uh oh. (via)
You know my feelings for the Dutch (swoon). This review talks about how neuroscientific evidence has been used in the courts in the Netherlands, 8 times so far for assessments of responsibility. Now gimme a smooch.
New Zealand’s not having it. They allow that neuroscience can certainly inform them about the human condition, but they won’t have it trying to replace their jury, i.e. neuroimaging for insanity pleas . Keeping that dividing line real clear….but fair enough. (via)
Switzerlandis the world’s skeptic when it comes to neurolaw, it’s too new and the methods can’t yet be trusted. (via) But they reserve a modest amount of optimism. whispery yay.
You know who’s not playing around? Turkey. Looks like they consider this topic to be held under general medical/ethics law. Here they focus on brain death and ”how experimental treatments may be turned out to be a subject of hope trade”. Fascinating! (via)
The UKis looking at something I always blab about: expert witnesses and how neuroscientific evidence may be used in court. Well done. (via) I like that.
And in typical fashion, the US is busting at the seams. Literally. We are excited, a lot is going on, we have a lot to say, jazz hands. But we have no idea where it’s going. (via)
K. I feel like I just hosted the Miss World Neurolaw pageant. Scores are at the bottom of your screen.
What Alcohol Does to Your Mind: Attentional Myopia
This is a whispery post since I’ll be having this condition today and throughout the weekend. Whiskey in my hazelnut coffee? Check. “The alcohol myopia model says that drink makes our attentional system short-sighted and the more we drink, the more short-sighted it becomes. With more alcohol our brains become less and less able to process peripheral cues and more focused on what is right in front of us. It’s this balance between what is right in front of us and what we don’t notice around the edges that determines how alcohol affects us in different situations.
Here are a few effects which imbibers (or those around me) will recognise immediately:
- An ego boost: when people drink, they often feel better about themselves. This may be because the attentional short-sightedness induced by alcohol makes all our shortcomings float away and so we feel closer to our ideal selves. This is probably one of the reasons it is so potentially addictive, it is self-actualisation in bottle form. (ask me about my awesomeness)
- Real worries can get worse: if we’ve had a bad day and we sit quietly with a drink, alcohol can make it worse because all the peripheral cues which are potential distractors are cut out and all we see are our problems. (ohgod)
- Pleasure in the moment: the flip-side of this attentional focus is that if, while drinking, we are doing something enjoyable, we find it easier to ignore any nagging doubts or stray worries wandering through our minds. We can be totally in the moment listening to music, watching sports or talking with a good friend. (niice)
- In the zone: it’s even possible that for some types of task it may increase performance as we let go of our insecurities. Perhaps that’s why so many writers wrote with a glass of whisky at their side.” (news flash)
