Ethical Challenges of Deep Brain Stimulation

Arriving in the era of neurotechnology, different methods for brain stimulation are becoming increasingly recognized as viable ways for the treatment of neurological diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease. However, many of the brain stimulation methods are now available readily on the market directly for non-medical consumer use without any medical supervision. Among the non-medical uses for the brain stimulation technology is cognitive enhancement, which is to augment a person’s cognitive capabilities beyond what they are normally capable of. One brain stimulation technology that has not yet been made publicly available is deep brain stimulation (DBS), because of its invasiveness and need for expert surgical intervention to implant the electrodes and the pacemaker. Nevertheless, some studies have tested its effects on cognitive enhancement, which predicts its potential usability in the future for cognitive enhancement purposes. In this paper, we provided definitions and analysis of cognitive enhancement and DBS after which DBS was examined from an Islamic view of biomedical ethics taking into perspective the Islamic principles of taklīf (responsibility before God) and ḍarūra (necessity). As literature on Islamic scholarly views of DBS is virtually non-existent, we have also interviewed two Islamic scholars from prominent religious institutions to provide Islamic legal insights into the therapeutic and enhancement uses of DBS. This paper serves as a foundation based on which further research into religious views of brain stimulation and cognitive enhancement can be made.