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Commentary
February 24, 2010

Deep Brain Stimulation and the Neuroethics of Responsible Publishing: When One Is Not Enough

Author Affiliations

Author Affiliations: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital, Bonn, Germany (Dr Schlaepfer); Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University (Dr Schlaepfer), and Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (Dr Schlaepfer), Baltimore, Maryland; and Division of Medical Ethics and Departments of Medicine, Public Health, and Psychiatry, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, New York (Dr Fins).

JAMA. 2010;303(8):775-776. doi:10.1001/jama.2010.140

In 2004, the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors put forward a fundamental truth: “The case against selective reporting is particularly compelling for research that tests interventions that could enter mainstream clinical practice.”1 There is perhaps no arena in medical research where the threat of selective reporting is greater than in the emerging field of deep brain stimulation (DBS) and neuromodulation. This intervention is now being studied2 for the treatment of several psychiatric diseases such as treatment-refractory obsessive-compulsive disorder, major depression, and Tourette syndrome as well as behavioral conditions like obesity, violent behavior, and substance abuse.

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