In August, members of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies® (BRAIN) Initiative’s Neuroethics Working Group (NEWG) and Multi-Council Working Group (MCWG) met to discuss ethical considerations related to artificial intelligence (AI) in neuroscience research, as well as updates from NEWG and MCWG members.
On August 21, 2024, the BRAIN Initiative NEWG held its 17th meeting. The NEWG is a group of experts in neuroethics and neuroscience that promotes the integration of neuroethics in NIH BRAIN Initiative activities.
Andrea Beckel-Mitchener, Ph.D., deputy director of the NIH BRAIN Initiative and designated federal official of NEWG, welcomed attendees. John Ngai, Ph.D., director of the NIH BRAIN Initiative, reviewed several upcoming events in the field of neuroethics before noting two recent neuroethics papers: (a) one highlighting the concerns of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder that DBS would create feelings of being controlled and that emotions were not their own, and (b) another that outlined post-trial obligations in neural device trials based on the principle of moral entanglements. He also highlighted a Notice of Special Interest (NOT-NS-24-073) focused on advancing research on ethical questions.
Joseph Monaco, Ph.D., in the Office of the BRAIN Director, provided an overview of several types of AI models, current applications for AI in neuroscience, and both limitations and ethical considerations of AI. He also shared a National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine report on Exploring the Bidirectional Relationship between AI and Neuroscience and two upcoming meetings: the INS Annual Meeting on April 23-25, 2025, and the 2024 BRAIN NeuroAI Workshop on November 12-13, 2024.
Doris Tsao, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, described the components of various common AI models, and Patrick Mineault, Ph.D., xcorr Consulting, presented on foundational AI models in neuroscience. Two case studies were featured during the meeting, including one on deep phenotyping in mental health and psychiatry and a second case study on training large language models on brain data.
NEWG Co-Chair Nita Farahany, J.D., Ph.D., Duke University, invited participants to share thoughts on future directions for NEWG related to the AI case studies. Some of the suggestions from members included: developing a commentary article, code of conduct, and best practices in the context of AI research; updating the Neuroethics Guiding Principles for research using AI; and assessing current efforts throughout NIH related to AI. The meeting concluded with NEWG members sharing relevant updates.
The next day, the MCWG, which provides input on BRAIN projects and programs, held its 29th meeting to discuss updates and new scientific developments.
Susan Weiss, Ph.D., designated federal official of the MCWG, welcomed meeting participants and introduced new MCWG members: Angela Laird, Ph.D., Florida International University; Tor Wager, Ph.D., Dartmouth College; and Kathleen Zackowski, Ph.D., O.T.R., National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Dr. Weiss thanked Hugo Bellen, D.V.M., Ph.D., Baylor College of Medicine; Kafui Dzirasa, M.D., Ph.D., Duke University; and Bruce Rosen, M.D., Ph.D., Havard Medical School, for their service to the MCWG.
Dr. Ngai presented BRAIN Initiative updates and events, including the 2024 Congressional Neuroscience Caucus Briefing, the 2024 Brain Awareness Lecture Series, a tour of the Princeton Neuroscience Institute, and the upcoming American Brain Economy Summit.
Dr. Ngai also shared current funding opportunities, summarized the BRAIN project team structure and budget, and highlighted new scientific findings and developments from the BRAIN Initiative: (a) a new adeno-associated virus that mediates blood-brain barrier crossing for brain-wide delivery in humans; (b) subicular neurons encoding of concave and convex geometries; (c) semantic encoding that occurs during language comprehension at single-cell resolution; and (d) the development of an accurate and rapidly calibrating speech neuroprosthesis.
The open session of the meeting concluded with a scientific talk from Tirin Moore, Ph.D., Professor of Neurobiology at Stanford University and MCWG member. Dr. Moore presented on how intermittent rate coding and cue-specific neuronal ensembles support working memory.
For more details on the meetings, please view: NEWG meeting summary(pdf, 163 KB), archived NEWG videocast, MCWG meeting summary(pdf, 158 KB), and archived MCWG videocast.
Want to stay updated on the latest BRAIN Initiative activities? Tune in to the next NEWG and MCWG meetings via NIH Videocast on May 9, 2025, and January 31, 2025, respectively!