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Background: Brain machine interface (BMI) technology has demonstrated its efficacy for rehabilitation of paralyzed chronic stroke patients. The critical component in BMI-training consists of the associative connection (contingency) between the intention and the feedback provided. However, the relationship between the BMI design and its performance in stroke patients is still an open question. Methods: In this study we compare different methodologies to design a BMI for rehabilitation and evaluate their effects on movement intention decoding performance. We analyze the data of 37 chronic stroke patients who underwent 4 weeks of BMI intervention with different types of association between their brain activity and the proprioceptive feedback. We simulate the pseudo-online performance that a BMI would have under different conditions, varying: (1) the cortical source of activity (i.e., ipsilesional, contralesional, bihemispheric), (2) the type of spatial filter applied, (3) the EEG frequency band, (4) the type of classifier; and also evaluated the use of residual EMG activity to decode the movement intentions. Results: We observed a significant influence of the different BMI designs on the obtained performances. Our results revealed that using bihemispheric beta activity with a common average reference and an adaptive support vector machine led to the best classification results. Furthermore, the decoding results based on brain activity were significantly higher than those based on muscle activity. Conclusions: This paper underscores the relevance of the different parameters used to decode movement, using EEG in severely paralyzed stroke patients. We demonstrated significant differences in performance for the different designs, which supports further research that should elucidate if those approaches leading to higher accuracies also induce higher motor recovery in paralyzed stroke patients. ; This study was funded by the Baden-Württemberg Stiftung (GRUENS ROB-1), the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, Koselleck and Grant SP 1533/2– 1), the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung BMBF: MOTORBIC (FKZ 13GW0053) and AMORSA (FKZ 16SV7754), the fortüne-Program of the University of Tübingen (2422-0-1 and 2452-0-0) and the Basque Government Science Program (EXOTEK: KK 2016/00083).

The paper "Neuroethics at 15: The Current and Future Environment for Neuroethics" by the Emerging Issues Task Force, International Neuroethics Society, addresses central challenges for neuroscience in the years to come. The authors provide examples of pressing ethical, legal, and political issues that arise from neuroscience and neurotechnology, including artificial intelligence (AI). The paper nicely illustrates how neuroscience and neurotechnology involve complex issues pertaining to epistemic uncertainty and conflicting values (for instance, between economic growth and commercial values and risks to users of the technology and to the environment). It also expresses an ambition that neuroethics should have a positive societal impact. The paper does not, however, reflect much on the proper relationship between neuroethics as academic research and the application of research and technology in real-world settings, i.e. how the translation between theory and practice should be conducted in this field of ethics (Bærøe 2014). How can, and should, neuroethicists have an impact, be policy-relevant, and inform the public? Moreover, the hope of further professionalization of neuroethics (in the Conclusion) raises the question of what constitutes expertise in this field. Does this expertise merit authority primarily in clarification and analysis of the cases at hand, or does it also give neuroethicists authority to make recommendations to policymakers and the public about what they should do? ; acceptedVersion

The growing influence of artificial intelligence, robotics and neurotechnologies on modern society increases the need to include in the legal system the rules governing the use of digital technologies and products based on them. This article attempts to establish how the concepts of "robot" and "artificial intelligence" relate to each other, as far as they are in contact with the field of neurotechnology. The author highlights the trends in the development of digital technologies, which will inevitably increase in the coming years, and outlines the boundaries within which the legal regulation being created today will be implemented.

In parallel to the evolution of the multivocal critical debate around it, the posthuman has increasingly invaded everyday life over the last 50-odd years. In the 2020s, posthuman encounters are, for large parts of humanity, occurrences in multiple areas of everyday life. The number of artificially created entities, some of which are ever more indistinguishable from their human creators, has multiplied. The human body has become the focal point of enhancements that call hitherto largely unchallenged notions about its humanness into question, from prosthetic joint replacements and the medical procedures enabling them to the promises of genetic engineering and neurotechnology.

Half Title -- Series Information -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Contents -- Foreword -- Preface -- Acknowledgements -- Figures and Tables -- List of Contributors -- Introduction -- 1 Introduction -- 2 The Architecture of International Order -- 3 The UN Charter and the International Bill of Human Rights -- 4 International Security -- 5 International Norms -- 6 Promoting Protection -- 7 Prevention -- 7.1 The Idea of a Comprehensive Global Watch over Human Security -- 8 Urgent Response and Mitigation -- 9 Giving a Voice to the Victims -- 10 Fact-Finding -- 11 Remedies and Compensation -- 12 Difficulties, Obstacles and Challenges -- 13 Partnership -- 14 Conclusion -- Chapter 1 Adrien-Claude Zoller: A Tribute -- Chapter 2 The Role of Nongovernmental Organizations in Developing and Protecting Human Rights -- 1 Introduction -- 2 Background: NGO s' Roles in Developing Human Rights and Standard-Setting -- 2.1 Historical Involvement in Standard-Setting -- 2.1.1 Examples of Human Rights NGO s Involved in Standard-Setting and Monitoring -- 3 NGO s' Roles in Human Rights Protection -- 3.1 Independent Activities at Home and Abroad -- 3.2 Contributions to Intergovernmental Procedures -- 3.2.1 NGO s and the Human Rights Treaty Bodies -- 3.2.2 NGO s and the Special Procedures -- 3.3 NGO s and the Universal Periodic Review -- 3.3.1 Background on the UPR Relevant to NGO s' Roles -- 3.3.2 Distinctive Opportunities for NGO s in the UPR -- 3.3.2.1 Domestic Activities in Preparation for the UPR -- 3.3.2.2 Activities at the Review in Geneva -- 3.3.2.3 Post-review Comments -- 4 Conclusion: The Effectiveness of Human Rights NGO s -- References -- Chapter 3 Protection NGO s in the Age of Neurotechnology -- 1 Advancing Neurorights -- 1.1 From Neurotechnology to Neurorights -- 1.2 The Need for a Centralized Framework -- 1.3 Expanding International Human Rights Law.

AbstractModern neurotechnologies are rapidly infringing on conventional notions of human dignity and they are challenging what it means to be human. This article is a survey analysis of the future of the digital age, reflecting primarily on the effects of neurotechnology that violate universal human rights to dignity, self-determination, and privacy. In particular, this article focuses on neuromarketing to critically assess potentially negative social ramifications of under-regulated neurotechnological application. Possible solutions are critically evaluated, including the human rights claim to the 'right to mental privacy' and the suggestion of a new human right based on spiritual jurisdiction, where the human psyche is a legal space in a substantive legal setting.

El objetivo de este trabajo es mostrar las consecuencias prácticas de una autocomprensión positivista de la neuroética aplicada. Esta ética se ocupa de los impactos éticos y sociales derivados de la utilización de los hallazgos neurocientificos, en especial de las neurotecnologías. La intención es mostrar que para realizar esta tarea la neuroética debe superar el paradigma neuropositivista dominante que solo le conduce a la disolución del ámbito moral y, en el terreno práctico, al silencio cómplice ante los problemas surgidos en la aplicación de las neurociencias. Para este fin daremos los siguientes pasos. En primer lugar, analizaremos los rasgos básicos de toda ética aplicada y desde ellos el origen y los objetivos de la neuroética aplicada. En segundo lugar, veremos cómo las investigaciones neuroéticas confunden el ámbito social con el ámbito moral, eliminando así de entrada toda perspectiva ética. Por último, ejemplificaremos las consecuencias prácticas de esta disolución en el caso de las políticas públicas, analizando el papel que puede cumplir y no cumple la neuroética aplicada frente al neuropoder generado por las neurotecnologías. ; The objective of this work is to show the practical consequences of the positivist selfcomprehension of applied neuroethics. This ethics deals with the ethical and social impacts that derive from applying neuroscientific findings, especially from neurotechnologies. The intention is to show that in order to perform this task, neuroethics must exceed the dominant neuropositivist paradigm that only leads it to dissolve the moral domain and, in the practical domain, an accomplice-type silence when faced with problems that arise upon applying neurosciences. To this end, we take the following steps: we firstly analyse the basic features of the whole applied ethics and with them, the origin and objectives of applied neuroethics. We will then see how neuroethical research confuses the social domain with the moral domain, and how it thus eliminates access to any ethical perspective. Finally, we will exemplify the practical consequences of this dissolution in public politics by analysing the role that may comply, but does not comply, with applied neuroethics as opposed to the neuropower created by neurotechnologies.

El objetivo de este trabajo es mostrar las consecuencias prácticas de una autocomprensión positivista de la neuroética aplicada. Esta ética se ocupa de los impactos éticos y sociales derivados de la utilización de los hallazgos neurocientificos, en especial de las neurotecnologías. La intención es mostrar que para realizar esta tarea la neuroética debe superar el paradigma neuropositivista dominante que solo le conduce a la disolución del ámbito moral y, en el terreno práctico, al silencio cómplice ante los problemas surgidos en la aplicación de las neurociencias. Para este fin daremos los siguientes pasos. En primer lugar, analizaremos los rasgos básicos de toda ética aplicada y desde ellos el origen y los objetivos de la neuroética aplicada. En segundo lugar, veremos cómo las investigaciones neuroéticas confunden el ámbito social con el ámbito moral, eliminando así de entrada toda perspectiva ética. Por último, ejemplificaremos las consecuencias prácticas de esta disolución en el caso de las políticas públicas, analizando el papel que puede cumplir y no cumple la neuroética aplicada frente al neuropoder generado por las neurotecnologías. ; The objective of this work is to show the practical consequences of the positivist selfcomprehension of applied neuroethics. This ethics deals with the ethical and social impacts that derive from applying neuroscientific findings, especially from neurotechnologies. The intention is to show that in order to perform this task, neuroethics must exceed the dominant neuropositivist paradigm that only leads it to dissolve the moral domain and, in the practical domain, an accomplice-type silence when faced with problems that arise upon applying neurosciences. To this end, we take the following steps: we firstly analyse the basic features of the whole applied ethics and with them, the origin and objectives of applied neuroethics. We will then see how neuroethical research confuses the social domain with the moral domain, and how it thus eliminates access to any ethical perspective. Finally, we will exemplify the practical consequences of this dissolution in public politics by analysing the role that may comply, but does not comply, with applied neuroethics as opposed to the neuropower created by neurotechnologies. ; Este estudio se inserta en el Proyecto de Investigación de I+D+I «Política, Empresa y Educación desde la Neuroética Aplicada» FI2013-47136-C2-2-P, financiado por el Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad.

Neuroscience and neurotechnology are transforming stroke rehabilitation. Robotic devices, in addition to telerehabilitation, are increasingly being used to train the upper limbs after stroke, and their use at home allows us to extend institutional rehabilitation by increasing and prolonging therapy. The aim of this study is to assess the usability of the MERLIN robotic system based on serious games for upper limb rehabilitation in people with stroke in the home environment. ; This research is part of a MERLIN project, which has received funding from EIT Health (Grant no. 20649). EIT Health is supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union which receives support from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and innovation programme.

The International Brain Initiative (IBI) has been established to coordinate efforts across existing and emerging national and regional brain initiatives. This NeuroView describes how to be involved and the new opportunities for global collaboration that are emerging between scientists, scientific societies, funders, industry, government, and society.

Debates on the human-rights implications of new and emerging technologies have been hampered by the lack of a comprehensive theoretical framework for the complex issues involved. This volume provides that framework, bringing a multidisciplinary and international perspective to the evolution of human rights in the digital and biotechnological era. It delves into the latest frontiers of technological innovation in the life sciences and information technology sectors, such as neurotechnology, robotics, genetic engineering, and artificial intelligence. Leading experts from the technological, medical, and social sciences as well as law, philosophy, and business share their extensive knowledge about the transformation of the rights framework in response to technological innovation. In addition to providing a comprehensive, interdisciplinary, and international state-of-the art descriptive analysis, the volume also offers policy recommendations to protect and promote human rights in the context of emerging socio-technological trends.

From time to time, a particular science achieves such great success that people are tempted to elevate it to the condition of prima philosophia and then to try to explain everything else from its perspective. Thus, physics becomes physicalism, history becomes historicism, and so on. Nowadays, the big science is the investigation of the nervous system, particularly the brain. The new paradigm is, then, given by neuroscience and everything else seems to require its prefix: neuroeconomy, neuroeducation, neurolaw, neurotechnology, neuroethics, and neuropolitics, among others. However, what does it really mean to use "neuro" as a prefix to a word as it appears in the title of this book? To answer this question, this work develops a metaethical theory, namely practical cognitivism and the new normative concept of caring respect, in order to examine the ethics of neuroscientific investigations and their associated neurotechologies, including, for example, the moral problems of cognitive enhancement using nootropics.