Journal Article

Impairments in Moral Decision Making due to Neurodegenerative Disease: Ethical and Practical Considerations for Clinicians

Horng, Sam

2017

Overview

Over the last two decades, the field of human social neuroscience has accelerated people's understanding of the neuroanatomical substrates of decision making, particularly in domains of moral behavior. Behavioral neurology, in turn, has advanced its characterization of specific decision-making impairments in various neurodegenerative diseases. These conditions provide the opportunity to learn how a loss of function or dysregulation of previously normal pathways may influence many behaviors of moral significance. A rapidly aging population and the growing recognition of these cognitive impairments require a practical and ethical framework for clinicians, including internists, geriatricians, neurologists, and psychiatrists. Here, a working framework for the clinician confronting impairments in moral decision making in patients with neurodegenerative disease is presented.

• Publisher: MedStar Washington Hospital Center
• Subject: Cognitive ability / Decision making / Medical ethics / Morality / Neurodegeneration / Neurosciences