title: Brain matters: from environmental ethics to environmental neuroethics.
abstract: The ways in which humans affect and are affected by their environments have been studied from many different perspectives over the past decades. However, it was not until the 1970s that the discussion of the ethical relationship between humankind and the environment formalized as an academic discipline with the emergence of environmental ethics. A few decades later, environmental health emerged as a discipline focused on the assessment and regulation of environmental factors that affect living beings. Our goal here is to begin a discussion specifically about the impact of modern environmental change on biomedical and social understandings of brain and mental health, and to align this with ethical considerations. We refer to this focus as Environmental Neuroethics, offer a case study to illustrate key themes and issues, and conclude by offering a five-tier framework as a starting point of analysis.
authors.affiliation: National Core for Neuroethics, Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, 2211 Wesbrook Mall, Koerner S124, Vancouver, V6T 2B5, B.C., Canada. Laura.cabrera@singularityu.org.|Center for Ethics & Humanities in the Life Sciences, Department of Translational Science and Molecular Medicine, Michigan State University, East Fee Hall, 965 Fee Road, Rm C211, East Lansing, MI, 48823, USA. Laura.cabrera@singularityu.org.
authors.forename: Laura Y
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Cabrera
authors.affiliation: National Core for Neuroethics, Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, 2211 Wesbrook Mall, Koerner S124, Vancouver, V6T 2B5, B.C., Canada. jdtesluk@gmail.com.|Department of Sociology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., Canada. jdtesluk@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Jordan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tesluk
authors.affiliation: National Core for Neuroethics, Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, 2211 Wesbrook Mall, Koerner S124, Vancouver, V6T 2B5, B.C., Canada. michelle5ubc@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chakraborti
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., Canada. ralph.matthews@ubc.ca.
authors.forename: Ralph
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Matthews
authors.affiliation: National Core for Neuroethics, Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, 2211 Wesbrook Mall, Koerner S124, Vancouver, V6T 2B5, B.C., Canada. jilles@mail.ubc.ca.
authors.forename: Judy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Illes
mesh_terms: D001675:Bioethics / Q000639:trends*; D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000941:ethics* / Q000639:trends; D001921:Brain; D004782:Environmental Health / Q000941:ethics* / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D009488:Neurosciences / Q000941:ethics* / Q000639:trends