Cambridge quarterly of healthcare ethics : CQ : the international journal of healthcare ethics committees
October 1, 2025
Søren Holm, Jonathan Lewis
Neural organoids derived from pluripotent stem cells have sparked ethical debate because, it is claimed, they could be sentient, or could develop sentience. We critically assess three routes for defending such a possibility: analogy with known sentient organisms, inference from neural function using leading theories of consciousness, and foundational philosophical commitments. Current cortical...
Cambridge quarterly of healthcare ethics : CQ : the international journal of healthcare ethics committees
April 1, 2025
Julia Alessandra Harzheim
3 citations
With the progress of artificial intelligence, the digitalization of the lifeworld, and the reduction of the mind to neuronal processes, the human being appears more and more as a product of data and algorithms. Thus, we conceive ourselves "in the image of our machines," and conversely, we elevate our machines and our brains to new subjects. At the same time, demands for an enhancement of human...
Cambridge quarterly of healthcare ethics : CQ : the international journal of healthcare ethics committees
April 1, 2025
Liv Baker, Barbara J King, William S Lynn
The authors critique the NY Declaration on Animal Consciousness, which does not denounce continued captivity and invasive research in the pursuit of animal consciousness markers. They argue that such research often increases animal suffering by accepting harmful practices. Instead, they propose a nonanthropocentric, ethical framework aligned with the Belmont Report's principle of beneficence,...
Cambridge quarterly of healthcare ethics : CQ : the international journal of healthcare ethics committees
January 3, 2025
Matthew Owen, Darren Hight, Anthony G. Hudetz
Studies have shown that some covertly conscious brain-injured patients, who are behaviorally unresponsive, can reply to simple questions via neuronal responses. Given the possibility of such neuronal responses, Andrew Peterson et al. have argued that there is warrant for some covertly conscious patients being included in low-stakes medical decisions using neuronal responses, which could protect...
Cambridge quarterly of healthcare ethics : CQ : the international journal of healthcare ethics committees
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...
Cambridge quarterly of healthcare ethics : CQ : the international journal of healthcare ethics committees
June 27, 2023
Katherine Cheung, Kyle Patch, Brian D. Earp et al.
27 citations
Psychedelics such as psilocybin reliably produce significantly altered states of consciousness with a variety of subjectively experienced effects. These include certain changes to perception, cognition, and affect,1 which we refer to here as the acute subjective effects of psychedelics. In recent years, psychedelics such as psilocybin have also shown considerable promise as therapeutic agents...
Cambridge quarterly of healthcare ethics : CQ : the international journal of healthcare ethics committees
March 2, 2023
Nathan Emmerich, Bryce Humphries
27 citations
Recent research offers good reason to think that various psychedelic drugs-including psilocybin, ayahuasca, ketamine, MDMA, and LSD-may have significant therapeutic potential in the treatment of various mental health conditions, including post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, existential distress, and addiction. Although the use of psychoactive drugs, such as Diazepam or Ritalin, is well...
Cambridge quarterly of healthcare ethics : CQ : the international journal of healthcare ethics committees
October 1, 2022
David B. Yaden, Brian D. Earp, Roland R. Griffiths
31 citations
Evidence suggests that psychedelics bring about their therapeutic outcomes in part through the subjective or qualitative effects they engender and how the individual interprets the resulting experiences. However, psychedelics are contraindicated for individuals who have been diagnosed with certain mental illnesses, on the grounds that these subjective effects may be disturbing or otherwise...
Cambridge quarterly of healthcare ethics : CQ : the international journal of healthcare ethics committees
January 2019
Kenneth V Iserson
The available treatments for disorders affecting large segments of the population are often costly, complex, and only marginally effective, and many have numerous side effects. These disorders include dementias, debilitating neurological disorders, the multiple types of drug addiction, and the spectrum of mental health disorders.Preliminary studies have shown that a variety of psychedelic and...
Cambridge quarterly of healthcare ethics : CQ : the international journal of healthcare ethics committees
October 1, 2016
Walter Glannon
32 citations
Consciousness defines us as persons. It allows us to have both pleasurable and painful experiences. I present four neurological conditions in the clinical setting to explore how consciousness can be beneficial or harmful to patients: intraoperative awareness, prolonged disorders of consciousness, locked-in syndrome, and the effects of narcotics and sedation on terminally ill patients. The...