Neuroethics is an area of applied ethics that evaluates the moral implications
of neuroscience, its technological products, health care applications and effects
on society. While neuroethics has evolved rapidly over the last decade,
the idea that it should be regarded as a distinct ethical discipline contributing
specific expertise to ethical inquiries is still controversial. We approach this
question by examining four major areas of neuroscience that have significant
ethical implications: (1) brain death and disorders of consciousness, (2)
neuroimaging, (3) deep brain stimulation and brain-computer interfaces, and
(4) neuroenhancement. Our analysis shows that the clinical applications of
neuroscience can be comprehensively assessed by primarily using the wellknown
four principles of medical ethics. Basic neuroscience research, however,
challenges many traditional ethical tenets as well as raising significant
social and anthropological questions. While it may not be best practised as
a novel and distinct discipline of ethics, neuroethics benefits most from
the cooperation of ethicists, clinicians and scientists focusing on the vexing
problems of neuroscience and its profound impact on society.