neuroethics: p athetic p leasure and p ersistent p ain prof jayapaul azariah ph.d president, asian...
TRANSCRIPT
Neuroethics:
Pathetic Pleasure and
Persistent Pain
• Prof Jayapaul Azariah Ph.D
President, Asian Bioethics Association
New No. 4, 8th Lane, Indiranagar,
Chennai 600 020. India
Addictions are of many sorts
• From mundane activity like drinking ICE COLD WATER during the summer in India
• A mechanical device like – Slot machine
The most innocuous looking of gambling games- freely accessible to school kids
• Chemical – durgs
• Habits
• Technology addiction
Technology addiction
Addiction to PC Mobile Cell phonesBoth can roam
locally and globallyBoth can
damage health and Nervous system
Advance of Techno Sciences
• If Biology belongs to 20th Century thenNeuroethics belongs to the 21st Century
• Science and Technology has advanced so rapidly during the later half of 20th Century
• Addiction has been now varied and new• One can be addicted to drink ice cold
water during the summer in India• Currently it is an addiction of a new kind• Addiction to technology
Technologies converge on Cell
Addiction to Technology
ALL in ONE Technology
• Can cause hearing lose when Listening to MP3 player too loudly or for too long a period
• Can damage Balancing wheel in the ear
Cell phone in Pulic
• Talking to oneself – looks like
• Emotional talk
• In public transports – like buses
• In banks
• The ears are plugged and they can not hear what the outside world tells them
NeurothicsBrain Blood barrier – broken
Internet café – Youth in doors
Case Study - 1
• The patient is a expert in Television Technology – working in Broadcasting Inc.
• All ways at the Cell phones• No rest to his phone calls• Listening to MP3 /IPOD music• He could not stand straight – suddenly he
will loose his balance and fall down• Lost his job• Could not find a cure
Case Study - 2• Mr ‘S’ on his way to Church – Tomorrow is
his interview for a new job – so he thought of prayer
• His voice was shaky – words incoherent
• He said, I am diagnosed – Biopolar disease
• After a long discussion he admitted that he was an addict to unhealthy WEBSITES
• He stopped visiting them four months ago – But the pathetic (pain) effect lingers on and on
Pathological implication• The doctor said – stop all your medicines• Next week I will put you on a new schedule
of drugs – Foreign drugs• Have they been approved by the Drug
Controller of India? – No idea?• These drugs are supplied by “brokers”• No informed consent – Patient is given the
impression that it is part of his treatment• He is not told that he is a part of an
experiment !• Pathetic pleasure but persistent pain!
Case Study - 3
• A computer Technology Professional- in a Call Center
• Feels that he is being ‘haunted’ by ‘spirits’ and ‘fears’
• I suggested to him that he takes proper rest and provide sleep for his mind & soul
• He said “ I have not yet joined the Centre”
• How he keeps himself occupied during day
Case Study 3 – Cont..• He said that he sits before the computer and
visits unwanted web sites• As a Christian he was in a conflict. One side of
him said you are a Christian - these websites are not the ones which he should feed on. The other side - his Psychic said that it is only natural and not you are participating in any unlawful sexual activity.
• Such a conflicting state of mind is a vulnerable part of human personality. During the conversation he agreed that he should not have been visiting some websites
Can a patient be outsourced?
• It can happen in India.• In India the Patient trusts the Doctor 100%• It is more so in the case of a new drug to treat
cancer/biopolar, the patient puts his trust on the doctor entirely
• BBC The drug has not been tested effectively on animals. The foreign (USA) collaborator says it is good enough for USA but it is good for India?
• Need to tighten Protocols of Informed Consent and Ethical procedures
Bioethical Safeguards !
• Need to enforce same standards as in a Western Country – regarding trails on animals.
• Regulations need to be tight
• Public awareness on these issues
• Curriculum Development in these areas
Thank you