Modeling the human brain: ethical issues at the current frontier of brain organoid science

Brain organoids are three-dimensional tissue structures, derived from induced pluripotent stem cells, that are used to model aspects of brain structure and function. The human brain is particularly challenging to model given its complexity, and synthesizing tissue that mimics human neural function raises unique ethical concerns given the brain’s central role in conscious experience and personal identity. This panel will present interdisciplinary reflections on issues at the boundaries of brain organoid technology. The first two presentations will highlight recent advances in brain organoid science, with a focus on 1) the scientific advantages and ethical challenges of transplanting human brain organoids into non-human animals, and 2) what recent experiments demonstrating learning in in-vitro brain organoids can reveal about human intelligence. The second two presentations will describe perspectives of potential and current biospecimen donors to brain organoid research, including 3) attitudes of patients towards research with brain vs. other organoid types, and facets of the research most likely to capture public attention and raise moral concerns, and 4) the experiences of two groups of biospecimen donors—adults with neurodegenerative disease and parents of children with neurodevelopmental disabilities—that inform recommendations for the treatment of human subjects involved in brain organoid research. Through these presentations and accompanying Q&A, panelists and audience members will explore key ethical issues currently facing brain organoid scientists and the patients and publics with whom they engage.