Brain organoids, consciousness, ethics and moral status.

Autor: Jeziorski J; Departments of Pediatrics and Cellular & Molecular Medicine, University of California San Diego, School of Medicine, Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny (CARTA), Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind, Archealization Center (ArchC), La Jolla, CA 92037, USA., Brandt R; Department of Philosophy, University of California, La Jolla, San Diego, CA 92093, USA., Evans JH; Institute for Practical Ethics, University of California, La Jolla, San Diego, CA 92093, USA., Campana W; Department of Anesthesiology, University of California, La Jolla, San Diego, CA 92093, USA., Kalichman M; Research Ethics Program, University of California, La Jolla, San Diego, CA 92093, USA., Thompson E; Department of Philosophy, University of British Columbia, Canada., Goldstein L; Departments of Medicine and Cellular & Molecular Medicine, University of California, La Jolla, San Diego, CA 92037, USA., Koch C; Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA, USA., Muotri AR; Departments of Pediatrics and Cellular & Molecular Medicine, University of California San Diego, School of Medicine, Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny (CARTA), Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind, Archealization Center (ArchC), La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. Electronic address: muotri@ucsd.edu.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Seminars in cell & developmental biology [Semin Cell Dev Biol] 2023 Jul 30; Vol. 144, pp. 97-102. Date of Electronic Publication: 2022 Mar 23.
DOI: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2022.03.020
Abstrakt: Advances in the field of human stem cells are often a source of public and ethical controversy. Researchers must frequently balance diverse societal perspectives on questions of morality with the pursuit of medical therapeutics and innovation. Recent developments in brain organoids make this challenge even more acute. Brain organoids are a new class of brain surrogate generated from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs). They have gained traction as a model for studying the intricacies of the human brain by using advancements in stem cell biology to recapitulate aspects of the developing human brain in vitro. However, recent observation of neural oscillations spontaneously emerging from these organoids raises the question of whether brain organoids are or could become conscious. At the same time, brain organoids offer a potentially unique opportunity to scientifically understand consciousness. To address these issues, experimental biologists, philosophers, and ethicists united to discuss the possibility of consciousness in human brain organoids and the consequent ethical and moral implications.
Competing Interests: Conflict of Interests Dr. Muotri is a co-founder and has an equity interest in TISMOO, a company dedicated to genetic analysis and brain organoid modeling focusing on therapeutic applications customized for autism spectrum disorder and other neurological disorders with genetic origins. The terms of this arrangement have been reviewed and approved by the University of California San Diego per its conflict of interest policies.
(Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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