Neuroethics of Memory to Be Explored at December 9 Symposium
Dec 6, 2011
Recent advances in understanding how memory functions and how memories could potentially be erased medically have raised numerous ethical questions. Scientists, ethicists, and legal scholars will explore the neuroethics of memory at a symposium organized by SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University on Friday, December 9, at the SUNY Global Center, 116 East 55th Street, New York, New York.
The speakers are André A. Fenton, PhD, New York University and SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University; David Glanzman, PhD, UCLA; Merle Kindt, PhD, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Adam Kolber, JD, Brooklyn Law School; John L. Kubie, PhD, SUNY Downstate; S. Matthew Liao, PhD, New York University; Todd C. Sacktor, MD, SUNY Downstate; and David Wasserman, JD, Yeshiva University.
Topics of discussion include memory erasure and enhancement; reconsolidation of memory; post-traumatic stress disorder; addiction; chronic neuropathic pain; “rebooting the brain”; clinical implications and “slippery slopes”; and how the transformation of the autobiographic self affects moral decision making.
The symposium begins at 9:00 am with welcoming remarks by Kathleen Powderly, PhD, CNM, director of the John Conley Division of Medical Ethics and Humanities, SUNY Downstate, and Mark Stewart, MD, PhD, dean of the School of Graduate Studies at Downstate. A panel discussion with all the speakers beginning at 2:45 pm will conclude the event.
The symposium is free, thanks to generous funding from the John Conley Foundation for Ethics and Philosophy in Medicine, but pre-registration is required.
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About SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University
Downstate Health Sciences University in Brooklyn is one of four academic health centers (AMCs) in The State University of New York (SUNY) 64-campus system and the only SUNY AMC in New York City dedicated to health education, research, and patient care for the borough’s 2.7 million residents. Its flagship hospital, University Hospital at Downstate (UHD), is a teaching hospital and benefits from the expertise of Downstate’s exceptional medical school and world-class academic center research facilities. With a staff of over 800 physicians representing 53 specialties and subspecialties, Downstate offers comprehensive healthcare services to the community.
UHD provides high-risk neonatal and infant services, pediatric nephrology, and dialysis for kidney diseases and is the only kidney transplantation program in Brooklyn. Beyond its clinical expertise, Downstate houses a range of esteemed educational institutions, including its College of Medicine, College of Nursing, School of Health Professions, School of Graduate Studies, and School of Public Health. Downstate fosters innovation through its multifaceted biotechnology initiative, the Biotechnology Incubator and BioBAT, which support early-stage and more mature biotech companies.