News and analysis on the implications of brain science.

Event

April 25: Neuroscience and the Law

AAAS | March 25, 2013

Speakers at this DC event will address what neuroscience can and cannot tell us about human behavior; the ways in which neuroscience is entering the courtroom; and the challenges this emerging knowledge poses for the trier of fact. Co-sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Dana Foundation as part of the Neuroscience & Society series, this event is open to the public. Register here.

Brain scans predict which criminals are more likely to reoffend

by Regina Nuzzo

Nature | March 25, 2013

Neuroimaging 'biomarker' linked to rearrest after incarceration.

Predicting Decisions Before They’re Conscious

by Danielle Venton

PNAS First Look Blog | March 25, 2013

A new study suggests that fMRI can decode a person’s decision before he or she is even conscious of it.

See also

It’s Like They’re Reading My Mind

by Grady Johnson and Sean Vitka

Slate | March 25, 2013

How next-generation apps will market your brainwaves.

Falling Down on the Job

Dana Foundation Blog | March 18, 2013

Failure of the media to communicate neuroscience is the focus of a four-person panel.

A Brief History of Narcoanalysis

by Vaughan Bell

Mind Hacks | March 16, 2013

A Colorado judge allows the use of “truth serum” to support an insanity plea. “[T]he ‘narcoanalytic interview’ is so left-field as to leave some people scratching their heads as to whether the judge has been at the narcotics himself.”

There is no evidence base for proposed dementia screening

by Carol Brayne, et al.

BMJ | February 27, 2013

A rallying call for an evidence based approach to dementia and related policy development. 

See also

A Bright Future for Neuroethics After Obama Greenlights Huge Neuroscience Project

by Michael Cook

BioEdge | February 23, 2013

President Obama’s announcement of the brain mapping project points toward investment in the field, but some neuroscientists worry that this one project will take funds away from other worthy studies.

Neuroscience and the Law Series
Since 2007, the Dana Foundation has supported a grant to the AAAS to hold seminars for state and federal judges on emerging issues in neuroscience, as part of the Foundation’s Neuroscience and Law series. The seminars are designed to provide judges with a better understanding of the role that advances in neuroscience may play in making legal determinations.

Since its inception, the series has gained a national prominence, with waiting lists of judges wanting to attend. In 2009, the American Bar Association’s Judicial Education Award was given to the AAAS for the series. It was the first time the award was offered to a non-judicial group.