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Nature Reviews Neuroscience 5, 421–425 (1 May 2004) | doi:10.1038/nrn1390

Neurocognitive enhancement: what can we do and what should we do?

Martha J. Farah , Judy Illes , Robert Cook-Deegan , Howard Gardner , Eric Kandel , Patricia King , Eric Parens , Barbara Sahakian & Paul Root Wolpe

Our growing ability to alter brain function can be used to enhance the mental processes of normal individuals as well as to treat mental dysfunction in people who are ill. The prospect of neurocognitive enhancement raises many issues about what is safe, fair and otherwise morally acceptable. This article resulted from a meeting on neurocognitive enhancement that was held by the authors. Our goal is to review the state of the art in neurocognitive enhancement, its attendant social and ethical problems, and the ways in which society can address these problems.