Bad Moves: How Decision Making Goes Wrong, and the Ethics of Smart Drugs

180 Pages·2013·1.78 MB·English

by  Barbara J Sahakian and Jamie Nicole LaBuzetta

BAD MOVES
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Great Clarendon Street, Oxford, ox2 6dp,
United Kingdom
Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford.
It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship,
and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of
Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries
© Barbara J. Sahakian and Jamie Nicole LaBuzetta 2013
Th e moral rights of the authors have been asserted
First Edition published in 2013
Impression: 1
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the
prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted
by law, by licence or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics
rights organization. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the
above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the
address above
You must not circulate this work in any other form
and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Data available
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Data available
ISBN 978–0–19–966847–2
Printed in Great Britain by
Clays Ltd, St Ives plc
This book is dedicated to all participants who have given their time to assist in
neuroscientifi c and mental health research ‘in the name of science’—our
understanding of the human mind and development of effective treatments
could not move forward without you.
Barbara Sahakian also dedicates this book to her daughters Jacqueline and
Miranda Robbins, who have shown a great interest in engaging the public in
science and neuroethics.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface ix
1 Life choices 1
2 Peering inside the ‘black box’ 2 1
3 Extreme emotions and risky behaviour 4 3
4 Interventions—drugs hit the press 83
5 Professor’s little helper—the ethics of enhanced cognition 1 05
Concluding thoughts 131
Endnotes 1 35
Acknowledgements 151
References 153
Index 163
vii
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PREFACE
Begin at the beginning . . . and go on till you come to the end: then stop.
Lewis Carroll, author
The bridges and murky water of the River Cam form the backdrop
of the yearly University of Cambridge Science Festival—part of
National Science Week in England. Ordinarily, the lecture theatres at
the New Museum site in the Cambridge city centre would be fi lled
with sleepy-eyed students sipping coffee, presided over by some
extraordinary and eccentric lecturer discussing the role of snail neu-
rons, the nervous system of the C . elegans worm, or some other admit-
tedly fascinating but equally esoteric topic. But for one week each
spring, the students are let loose, and interested members of the pub-
lic gather for whatever topics await.
The University of Cambridge Science Festival is an ongoing effort
originally intended to make members of the public more aware of
cutting-edge scientifi c advances in fascinating topics such as space
exploration, computer technology, composite materials, and the
brain. It has developed into a stimulating and successful annual meet-
ing of academics, Cambridge students, professionals, parents, and
children, and includes lectures, debates, and interactive programmes
for all ages. 1
Throughout recent years, one recurring theme has been inter spersed
among others: the science of brain function (‘cognition’), and more spe-
cifi cally, the science that illuminates how brain function usually works,
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