Science on Tap to feature talk on the ethics of neuroimaging techniques, neuropharmacology

Amy Brewster  Download Photo

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue University psychological sciences professor Amy Brewster will discuss the ethics questions of neuroimaging techniques and neuropharmacology at next week's Science on Tap. 

The talk, titled "Liars, Killers, and Mind Drugs: Studies on Neuroethics," is at 6 p.m. April 28 in the upstairs of Lafayette Brewing Company, 622 Main St. Lafayette. The informal lecture, which is free and open to those 21 and older, is sponsored by the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, Department of Psychological Sciences, the College of Science and Discovery Park.

"We will discuss cases in which brain imaging such as PET and fMRI scans have been used in an attempt to predict human behaviors associated with lies and deception and to identify 'latent' serial killers," Brewster said. "We also will discuss the use and abuse of cognitive enhancing drugs by healthy students on college campuses."

Recent advances in neuroimaging techniques and neuropharmacology allow for the unprecedented visualization and manipulation of the human mind. These technologies are often developed with the goal of helping to improve the diagnosis and treatment of human medical diseases and conditions.

The use of brain imaging and "mind drugs" has made it into legal and social systems, such as courtrooms and classrooms, Brewster said. The "off label" use of these technologies comes with numerous ethical issues related to safety, responsibility, fairness, benefits, free will and privacy, among others.

Brewster earned a bachelor's degree in biology from the University of Puerto Rico-Cayey in 1999 and a doctorate in neurobiology, anatomy and developmental epilepsy from the University of California, Irvine, in 2006. She completed postdoctoral fellowships at the UC Irvine and the Baylor College of Medicine.

Brewster's research examines mechanisms that underlie molecular and structural dendritic alterations and behavioral deficits in epilepsy.

Science on Tap, led by graduate students Nelda Vazquez, Andrew Hesselbrock and Paula Cooper, provides Purdue faculty and collaborating researchers the opportunity to share research activities in an informal setting with presentations that are designed to appeal to a more general audience. Attendance at the monthly event has averaged 80 during the program's first four years. 

Writers: Emily Sigg, 765-494-4719, esigg@purdue.edu 

Phillip Fiorini, 765-496-3133, pfiorini@purdue.edu 

Sources: Amy Brewster, 765-494-5075, abrewst@purdue.edu

Nelda Vazquez, nvazque@purdue.edu

Andrew Hesselbrock, ahesselb@purdue.edu

Paula Cooper, porourk@purdue.edu