Shen Neurolaw Lab:
Law, Ethics
Neuroscience &
Artificial Intelligence
L
E
Every story is a brain story, and every day these stories become richer as scientists across the world make advances in how we understand and treat the human brain. The potential implications are stunning. Brain science might allow us to one day reverse dementia, prevent addiction, reduce interpersonal violence, detect lies, and much more. But whether this promise is realized depends on the path that is forged from lab to law.
That’s where we come in.
The mission of the Shen Neurolaw Lab is to translate advances in brain science and artificial intelligence into better law and policy, and to identify and address the ethical, legal, and social implications of advances in neurotechnology and AI. We recognize that the promise of brain science must be balanced against the perils of premature and inappropriate uses.
We also recognize that to pursue this type of research requires community engagement, listening, and team building across many sectors. Read more about the Lab here and below, and see our roster of amazing Lab members past and present, and check out our Lab featured in an episode of the CBS show All Rise.
Ethical, Legal and social implications of Digital Psychiatry & Computational Psychiatry
By combining 24/7 data—on location, movement, email and text communications, and social media—with brain scans, genetics/genomics, neuropsychological batteries, and clinical interviews, mental health providers will have an unprecedented amount of objective, individual-level data. Analyzing this data with ever-evolving AI/ML offers the possibility of intervening more effectively to improve mental health. But the road to this innovative future is fraught with ethical and legal challenges, and our Lab addresses them.
- Shen FX, Silverman BC, Monette P, Kimble S, Rauch SL, Baker JT. An Ethics Checklist for Digital Health Research in Psychiatry. Journal of medical Internet research. 2022 Feb 9;24(2):e31146. PMCID: PMC8867294.
- Intimate Data: Ensuring Equity as Psychiatry Embraces Boundless Data and AI (2022)
- Computational Justice: How Artificial Intelligence and Digital Phenotyping Can Advance Social Good (2019)
The Law & Ethics of Artificial Intelligence
As AI rapidly advances, our Lab examines the legal and ethical challenges that come with the AI revolution. We have tracked law schools that teach Law & AI, and Professor Shen teaches courses on Bioethics, Law & AI.
- Shen, FX. Neuroscience, Artificial Intelligence and the Case against Solitary Confinement, 21 Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law 937 (2019)
- Shen FX, Johnson, B. Teaching Law & Artificial Intelligence, 22 Minn. J. L. Sci. & Tech 23 (2021)
- As of 2022, we are active in the NIH Bridge2AI initiative.
Law & Neuroscience: Building the Field
The fields of neurolaw and neuroethics are heavily interdisciplinary. To address gaps between disciplines, our Lab builds foundations for productive dialogue.Our work identifies pathways for ethical development of neurolaw and neurotechnology that avoids politicization and focuses on delivery of health and social benefits
- Jones OD, Schall JD, Shen FX. Law and Neuroscience. 2nd ed. Wolters Kluwer Law & Business; 2020.
- Shen FX, Gromet DM. Red states, blue states, and brain states: issue framing, partisanship, and the future of neurolaw in the United States. Ann Am Acad Poli Soc Sci 2015;658(1):86-101.
- Shen FX. Neurolegislation: how US legislators are using brain science. Harv J Law Tech 2015;29(2):495-526.
Aging Brains and the Law
Our Lab has explored the legal and ethical challenges associated with advances in understanding of how brains age. We’ve published early guidance on the legal issues arising from the use of biomarkers for early detection of Alzheimer’s Disease, and also published the most extensive analysis of cognitive aging for judges.
- Shen, FX. Aging Judges. Ohio St. LJ 2020; 81: 235-314.
- Preston J, McTeigue J, Opperman C, Krieg JD, Brandt-Fontaine M, Yasis A, Shen FX. The legal implications of detecting Alzheimer’s disease earlier. AMA J Ethics 2016;18(12):1207-17. PMID: 28009247.
- Hoffman MB, Shen FX, Iyengar V, Krueger F. The Intersectionality of Age and Gender on the Bench: Are Younger Female Judges Harsher with Serious Crimes?. Colum. J. Gender & L.. 2020; 40:128.
Ethical, Legal and social implications of Portable & Accessible neuroimaging
Our Lab has identified and addressed ethical, legal, equity and diversity issues emerging from uses of neuroscience and neurotechnology in clinical, research, and legal contexts.
- Shen FX, Wolf SM, Gonzalez RG, Garwood M. Ethical Issues Posed by Field Research Using Highly Portable and Cloud-Enabled Neuroimaging. Neuron. 2020 Mar 4;105(5):771-5. PMCID: PMC8803403.
- Shen FX, Wolf SM, et al (17 additional co-authors). Emerging ethical issues raised by highly portable MRI research in remote and resource-limited international settings. NeuroImage 2021;238, 118210. PMCID: PMC8382487.
- Challenges for Mobile Diagnostics: Mobile MRI as a Case Study (2022)
Justice, Equity, Diversity & Diversity in Neuroethics and neurolaw
Our Lab has been active in advancing research and advocacy on addressing justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion challenges in neuroscience research and clinical practice.
- Shen, FX. Racial injustice and neuroethics: Time for action. AJOB Neuroscience 2020;11, 212-216. PMID: 32716756.
- Shen, FX. Is There an Ethical Duty to Report the Socioeconomic Status of Research Participants in Human Neuroscience Research?, Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience (Chicago, IL) (2019)
- Shen FX, Hoffman MB, Jones OD, Marois R, Greene JD. Sorting guilty minds. New York Univ Law Rev 2010;86:1306-60.
- Shen FX, Minority mens rea. Hastings Law J 2017;68(5):1007-1084.
- Ginther MR, Bonnie RJ, Hoffman MB, Shen FX, Simons KW, Jones OD, Marois R. Parsing the behavioral and brain mechanisms of third-party punishment. J of Neuroscience. 2016 Sep 7; 36:9420-34. PMCID: PMC5013189.
Sports Concussions and the Law
Are current legal and policy responses to the challenge of youth sports concussion adequate? How are youth sports concussion laws being implemented? Our Lab has answered these and related questions through a multi-year interdisciplinary research project featuring the nation’s first statewide empirical evaluation of implementation of state concussion laws in youth (younger than high school) athletes.
Shen FX. Are youth sports concussion statutes working? Duquesne Univ Law Rev 2018; 56(1):7-33.
Diekmann S, Rasmussen C, Egan C, Shen FX. The failure of youth sports concussion laws and the limits of legislating health education. Yale J Health Policy, Law, and Ethics 2019; 19:1-214.
Cormack, W, Graen, J, Novo, J, Shen, FX. Quasi-Professional Negligence: A New Standard of Care for Volunteer Youth Sports Coaches, Va Sports & Ent LJ 2022 (in press)
Rasmussen C, Diekmann S, Egan C, Johnson T, Shen FX. How dangerous are youth sports for the brain?: A review of the evidence. Berkeley J Entertainment & Sports Law 2018;7(1):67-191.
Lie Detection and Mental Privacy
The collection, sharing, and use of brain data raises salient privacy issues. Our Lab examines the ethical and legal safeguards that need to be in place, for instance in the context of brain-based deception detection technology using fMRI and EEG.
- Shen FX. Neuroscience, mental privacy, and the law. Harvard J Law Pub Policy 2013;36(2):653-713.
- Shen FX, Jones OD. Brain scans as evidence: truths, proofs, lies, and lessons. Mercer Law Rev 2011; 62(3):861-83.
- Shen FX, Twedell E, Opperman C, Krieg JD, Brandt-Fontaine M, Preston J, McTeigue J, Yasis A, Carlson M. The limited effect of electroencephalography memory recognition evidence on assessments of defendant credibility. Journal of Law and the Biosciences. 2017.
Use of Neuroscientific Evidence in the Criminal Law
Our Lab has explored multiple dimensions of how neuroscience evidence may be introduced in the criminal courtroom and challenge criminal law doctrine. For example, working with an interdisciplinary team through the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Law and Neuroscience, we have used behavioral and fMRI tasks to empirically investigate how jury-eligible lay participants assess the mental states of 3rd party offenders when deciding how to punish those offenders. This work has not only drawn scholarly attention, but has also been cited in court proceedings, including by the U.S. Supreme Court.
- Shen FX, McLuskie F, Shortell E, Bellamoroso M, Escalante E, Evans B, Hayes I, Kimmey C, Lagan S, Muller M, Near J. Justice for Emerging Adults after Jones: The Rapidly Developing Use of Neuroscience to Extend Eighth Amendment Miller Protections to Defendants Ages 18 and Older. New York Univ Law Rev 2022;97:101-126.
- Shen FX, Hoffman MB, Jones OD, Marois R, Greene JD. Sorting guilty minds. New York Univ Law Rev 2010;86:1306-60.
- Shen FX, Minority mens rea. Hastings Law J 2017;68(5):1007-1084.
- Ginther MR, Bonnie RJ, Hoffman MB, Shen FX, Simons KW, Jones OD, Marois R. Parsing the behavioral and brain mechanisms of third-party punishment. J of Neuroscience. 2016 Sep 7; 36:9420-34. PMCID: PMC5013189.