title: Ethical aspects of research on brain morphology in psychiatric patients.
abstract: Morphometric and functional brain research is now an integral part of the most concentrated effort in a century to understand some of the most distressing illnesses to which man can fall victim. It will undoubtedly expand. The only ones with anything to fear from this work are those who, for ideological reasons, cannot accept its basic premises. The ethical issues it raises are not in general insurmountable, though the questions posed by the concept of informed consent remain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: D G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Owens
mesh_terms: D001294:Attitude to Health; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D049671:History, 18th Century; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006805:Human Experimentation; D006801:Humans; D007258:Informed Consent; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology* / Q000523:psychology; D008959:Models, Neurological; D008960:Models, Psychological; D009445:Neuroanatomy / Q000266:history / Q000379:methods; D009484:Neuropsychology / Q000266:history / Q000639:trends; D010330:Patents as Topic; D011011:Pneumoencephalography / Q000009:adverse effects; D012106:Research / Q000592:standards*; D012109:Research Support as Topic; D014055:Tomography, Emission-Computed; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed