The Utility- and Use-of Neurotechnology to Recover Consciousness: Technical and Neuroethical Considerations in Approaching the "Hard Question" of Neuroscience

Herein, let “a/e” stand for neural activities that are indicative of some efficient process(es) of consciousness; and “m” stand for material substrates (e.g., tracts, networks, and nodes) involved in particular functional domains “d” of these processes that are held to be important in and for clinical, ethico-legal, and social value. Given this, one methodological approach might be to assess key patterns (P; e.g., differential spatio-temporal arrays of tract, network and nodal engagement in the brain; behavior[s]; etc.) in specific functional domains (“m/d”) that are reflective of neural activity indicative of efficient processes of consciousness (“a/e”), such that Pm/d ≈a/e as obtained under empirically defined conditions in accordance with (the most applicably) current theoretical models of the relationship of brain function and consciousness4. In addition to the conceptual and technical challenges to which it gives rise, it raises important neuroethico-legal and social issues focal to procedural limitations and inadequacies, liabilities inherent to the interpretation of proxy-derivative information, and inappropriate use and/or frank misuse of technology (Uttal, 2001). Yet, we believe that if progress, and realistic return on the investment of time, money and expectation in neurotechnology as promoted by large scale, international efforts (e.g., the EU Human Brain Project; United States' Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnology—BRAIN—initiative, and other, more nascent enterprises, such as the China Brain Project; Japanese Brain/MINDS Project, etc.,) are to be achieved and sustained, then efforts to translate these tools to safe and beneficial clinical applications are essential7.