Neuromodulation is among the fastest-growing areas of medicine, involving many diverse specialties and affecting hundreds of thousands of patients with numerous disorders worldwide. It can briefly be described as the science of how electrical, chemical, and mechanical interventions can modulate the nervous system function. A prominent example of neuromodulation is deep brain stimulation (DBS), an intervention that reflects a fundamental shift in the understanding of neurological and psychiatric diseases: namely as resulting from a dysfunctional activity pattern in a defined neuronal network that can be normalized by targeted stimulation. The application of DBS has grown remarkably and more than 130,000 patients worldwide have obtained a DBS intervention in the past 30 years—most of them for treating movement disorders. This Frontiers Research Topics provides an overview on the current discussion beyond basic research in DBS and other brain stimulation technologies. Researchers from various disciplines, who are working on broader clinical, ethical and social issues related to DBS and related neuromodulation technologies, have contributed to this research topic.
Global Mental Health and Neuroethics explores conceptual, ethical and clinical issues that have emerged with the expansion of clinical neuroscience into middle- and low-income countries. Conceptual issues covered include avoiding scientism and skepticism in global mental health, integrating evidence-based and value-based global medicine, and developing a welfarist approach to the practice of global psychiatry. Ethical issues addressed include those raised by developments in neurogenetics, cosmetic psychopharmacology and deep brain stimulation. Perspectives drawing on global mental health and neuroethics are used to explore a number of different clinical disorders and developmental stages, ranging from childhood through to old age.
Through the sobering story of Maggie Worthen and her mother, Nancy, this book tells of one family's struggle with severe brain injury and how developments in neuroscience call for a reconsideration of what society owes patients at the edge of consciousness. Drawing upon over fifty in-depth family interviews, the history of severe brain injury from Quinlan to Schiavo, and his participation in landmark clinical trials, such as the first use of deep brain stimulation in the minimally conscious state, Joseph J. Fins captures the paradox of medical and societal neglect even as advances in neuroscience suggest new ways to mend the broken brain. Responding to the dire care provided to these marginalized patients, after heroically being saved, Fins places society's obligations to patients with severe injury within the historical legacy of the civil and disability rights movements, offering a stirring synthesis of public policy and physician advocacy.
This issue of International Review of Neurobiology brings together cutting-edge research on neuromodulation. It reviews current knowledge and understanding, provides a starting point for researchers and practitioners entering the field, and builds a platform for further research and discovery. - Brings together cutting-edge research on neuromodulation - Reviews current knowledge and understanding - Provides a starting point for researchers and practitioners entering the field, and builds a platform for further research and discovery
Neuromodulation will be the first comprehensive and in-depth reference textbook covering all aspects of the rapidly growing field of neuromodulation. This book provides a complete discussion of the fundamental principles of neuromodulation and therapies applied to the brain, spinal cord, peripheral nerves, autonomic nerves and various organs. The textbook is highly structured and organized into overarching sections that cover chronic pain, movement disorders, psychiatric disorders, epilepsy, functional electrical stimulation, cardiac, gastrointestinal, genitourinary and organ neuromodulation. The fundamental principles of electricity and infusion, neural tissue interface, biomedical engineering, neuromodulation devices, basic science, neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, imaging and mechanisms are emphasized. In addition to providing details pertaining to the state-of-the-art current practice, innovative and emerging applications are discussed in specific chapters. Finally, the textbook provides specific chapters focusing on the technical aspects of the various neuromodulation procedures as well as technical specifications of various implantable devices. All of the contributors to Neuromodulation represent leading experts in the field. The editors are internationally renowned in their respective fields of neuromodulation, pain management, functional neurosurgery and biomedical engineering. Neuromodulation will be the first and foremost authoritative text on neuromodulation therapies and will establish the gold standard that defines the field for years to come.Key Features - The first comprehensive reference on the emerging field of Neuromodulation - Editors and authors include all leading figures in the field, and the leaders of the International Neuromodulation Society - Over 90 chapters on topics ranging from a layout of the fundamentals (e.g. neuroanatomy, plasticity, bioelectrical effects, infusion therapies), solutions for the biomedical engineering challenges (e.g. materials, how to preserve normal function etc.), to a rundown of the existing applications and their future promise - Over 1200 pages in splendid full color, richly illustrated - Important areas of application include: control of chronic pain delivery of drugs to the nervous system via implanted devices control of epilepsy, Parkinson, etc. functional restoration, e.g. visual, auditory, restoration after stroke, restoration of motor function after traumatic events stimulation of body organs via neural devices (incl. the heart, abdominal organs, genitourinary organs) overview over newly emerging fields - control of obesity, blood pressure, tinnitus, brain injury, neurodegenerative diseases, brain-machine interfaces
The wealth of insights into the brain’s functioning gained by neuroscience in recent years led to the development of new possibilities for intervening in the brain such as neurotransplantation, neural prostheses and brain stimulation techniques. Moreover, new and safer classes of psychopharmaceutical drugs lend themselves to neuroenhancement applications, i.e. they could be used to enhance cognitive capacities or emotional well-being without therapeutic need. This book offers extensive state-of-the-art accounts for these novel kinds of intervention, indicates future developments, and discusses the relevant philosophical, ethical and legal issues.
Edited by an expert multidisciplinary team, Neuromodulation in Psychiatry is the first reference guide to address both invasive and non-invasive neuromodulation strategies used in psychiatry. Covers basic principles, technical aspects, clinical applications and ethical considerations Presents up-to-date evidence in comprehensive summaries suitable for all levels of experience Each technique is clearly explained along with its implications for real-world clinical practice Allows psychiatrists to make informed decisions regarding neuromodulation for their patients
This textbook, one of the first, provides a comprehensive review of the relationship between psychiatry and legal medicine in the older population. Sections reviewing evaluation, civil and criminal topics, and numerous other areas such as risk management, will help physicians, attorneys, and other professionals in their work with the elderly.
The essays in this book, written by researchers from both humanities and science, describe various theoretical and experimental approaches to adding medical ethics to a machine, what design features are necessary in order to achieve this, philosophical and practical questions concerning justice, rights, decision-making and responsibility in medical contexts, and accurately modeling essential physician-machine-patient relationships. In medical settings, machines are in close proximity with human beings: with patients who are in vulnerable states of health, who have disabilities of various kinds, with the very young or very old and with medical professionals. Machines in these contexts are undertaking important medical tasks that require emotional sensitivity, knowledge of medical codes, human dignity and privacy. As machine technology advances, ethical concerns become more urgent: should medical machines be programmed to follow a code of medical ethics? What theory or theories should constrain medical machine conduct? What design features are required? Should machines share responsibility with humans for the ethical consequences of medical actions? How ought clinical relationships involving machines to be modeled? Is a capacity for empathy and emotion detection necessary? What about consciousness? This collection is the first book that addresses these 21st-century concerns.
