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Andrea Lavazza

9 papers in the library · publishing 2018-2023

Papers

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Theoretical Neurobiology of Consciousness Applied to Human Cerebral Organoids.

Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics October 18, 2023 Matthew Owen, Zirui Huang, Catherine Duclos et al.

Organoids and specifically human cerebral organoids (HCOs) are one of the most relevant novelties in the field of biomedical research. Grown either from embryonic or induced pluripotent stem cells, HCOs can be used as in vitro three-dimensional models, mimicking the developmental process and organization of the developing human brain. Based on that, and despite their current limitations, it...

DOI: 10.1017/s0963180123000543 (opens in new tab) Full text (opens in new tab) Consciousness Human cerebral organoids Neurobiology

Consciousness in a Rotor? Science and Ethics of Potentially Conscious Human Cerebral Organoids.

AJOB Neuroscience 2023 Federico Zilio, Andrea Lavazza

Human cerebral organoids are three-dimensional biological cultures grown in the laboratory to mimic as closely as possible the cellular composition, structure, and function of the corresponding organ, the brain. For now, cerebral organoids lack blood vessels and other characteristics of the human brain, but are also capable of having coordinated electrical activity. They have been usefully...

DOI: 10.1080/21507740.2023.2173329 (opens in new tab) Full text (opens in new tab) Sentience Embodied theory Integrated information theory Moral status

Le menti non sono documenti (e viceversa)

Rivista Internazionale di Filosofia e Psicologia December 31, 2021 Giovanni Tuzet, Andrea Lavazza

In the theory of documentality, social objects are understood as inscribed acts; in extended mind theory, minds are considered to extend beyond the body to external processes and devices. Although for different reasons, these two theories rely on the semiotic dimension to reduce the differences between minds and documents. Yet, in a certain reading, such theories are implausible if we consider...

‘Consciousnessoids’: clues and insights from human cerebral organoids for the study of consciousness

Neuroscience of Consciousness October 28, 2021 Andrea Lavazza

Abstract Human cerebral organoids (HCOs) are an in vitro three-dimensional model of early neural development, aimed at modelling and understanding brain development and neurological disorders. In just a few years, there has been a rapid and considerable progress in the attempt to create a brain model capable of showcasing the structure and functions of the human brain. There are still strong...

Potential ethical problems with human cerebral organoids: Consciousness and moral status of future brains in a dish.

Brain Research 2021 Andrea Lavazza

Human cerebral organoids (HCOs) are an in vitro model of early neural development, aimed at modelling and understanding brain development and neurological disorders. In just a few years there has been rapid and considerable progress in the attempt to create a brain model capable of showcasing the characteristics of the human brain. There are still strong limitations to address, including the...

DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2020.147146 (opens in new tab) Full text (opens in new tab) Biomedical research Chimeras Human embryos Integrated information theory +1

Human cerebral organoids and consciousness: a double-edged sword.

Monash bioethics review December 1, 2020 Andrea Lavazza

Human cerebral organoids (HCOs) are three-dimensional in vitro cell cultures that mimic the developmental process and organization of the developing human brain. In just a few years this technique has produced brain models that are already being used to study diseases of the nervous system and to test treatments and drugs. Currently, HCOs consist of tens of millions of cells and have a size of...

DOI: 10.1007/s40592-020-00116-y (opens in new tab) Full text (opens in new tab) Chimeras Integrated information theory Kant’s humanity formula Moral status +1

Human cerebral organoids as a new legal and ethical challenge.

Journal of law and the biosciences 2020 Andrea Lavazza, Federico Gustavo Pizzetti

Human cerebral organoids (HCOs) are miniature brains cultivated in a dish using pluripotent human cells that, thanks to advanced technologies, tend to reproduce the development path of the brain of an embryo in the mother's uterus. Recent data from studies carried out in different laboratories have indicated that HCOs show complex electrical activity, are receptive to light stimuli, and can...

DOI: 10.1093/jlb/lsaa005 (opens in new tab) Full text (opens in new tab) Brain activity Consciousness Integrated information theory Legal protection +3

James’ “Fringe” and “Qualia of Meaning”: A Proposal

Phenomenology and Mind September 17, 2018 Andrea Lavazza

Many philosophers have made the distinction between two phenomenological aspects of consciousness, namely, the partition between clear and distinct contents/vague and peripheral feeling. Such a distinction is relevant for Husserl, while James (1890) provides the most comprehensive account of nucleus and fringe. A concept close to that of fringe, and in particular to the more recently proposed...

Cerebral organoids: ethical issues and consciousness assessment.

Journal of Medical Ethics September 1, 2018 Andrea Lavazza, Marcello Massimini

Organoids are three-dimensional biological structures grown in vitro from different kinds of stem cells that self-organise mimicking real organs with organ-specific cell types. Recently, researchers have managed to produce human organoids which have structural and functional properties very similar to those of different organs, such as the retina, the intestines, the kidneys, the pancreas, the...

DOI: 10.1136/medethics-2017-104555 (opens in new tab) Full text (opens in new tab) Cerebral organoids Integrated information theory Perturbational complexity index