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January 18, 2012

We are pleased to announce, in this inaugural edition, the launch of the Listserv “Neurolaw News” for the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Law and Neuroscience, headquartered at Vanderbilt Law School.  The Listserv will periodically communicate a select and concise sampling of noteworthy developments in neurolaw.   

 In this edition, we note, by way of background, that the Research Network was launched in June of 2011 with a $4.85 million grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

 The Network consists of leading neuroscientists, psychologists, philosophers, and lawyers, including Marc Raichle, B.J. Casey, Anthony Wagner, Read Montague, Larry Steinberg, Martha Farah, Buffie Scott, David Faigman, Richard Bonnie, Stephen Morse, Morris Hoffman, and Gideon Yaffe.  Owen D. Jones, Professor of Law and Biological Sciences at Vanderbilt University, serves as Director of the Network.

 The two main goals of the Research Network on Law and Neuroscience < / > are (1) to help the legal system avoid the misuse of neuroscientific evidence in criminal law contexts, and (2) to explore ways to deploy neuroscientific insights to improve the fairness and effectiveness of the criminal justice system.  The Network pursues these goals through an interconnected program of research with three themes: Mental States, Capacity and Evidence.  Within those themes, the members conduct research in several project areas, including: Deception and Recognition, Mental States, Self-Regulation, Adolescent Development, and Inferences from Group Neuroscientific Data.  An overview of the conceptual framework appears here:  < /_resources/pdf/LawandNeuroscience_ConceptualFramework1.pdf  >

 In this edition of Neurolaw News, we are pleased to present the following: 

 (1)   Neuroscience Boot Camp

The 3rd Annual Penn Neuroscience Boot Camp, hosted at the University of Pennsylvania Center for Neuroethics and Society and supported in part by the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Law and Neuroscience, will run from July 30 – August 8, 2012. 

Scholarships are available for law faculty.  The number of scholarships is limited.  Application deadline: February 3, 2012

On-line applications now available at: http://www.neuroethics.upenn.edu/index.php/events/neuroscience-bootcamp

(2)   Law & Neuroscience Bibliography – Tops 700 Publications

The Network-prepared Law and Neuroscience Bibliography is now available. It has searchable functionality, features over 700 items, and is updated regularly.  It may be accessed directly at  < /bibliography.php > or through  our main website at < / >.  We invite you to explore and use this rapidly growing resource.

(3)   British Report on Neurolaw

The Royal Society in Great Britain has issued a cautiously optimistic report on “Neuroscience and the Law” as part of a neuroscience research initiative known as Brain Waves that is investigating developments in neuroscience and their implications for society and public policy.  The report provides an introduction to questions at the intersection of neuroscience and the law, and discusses a range of topics, including neuroscience technology, evidence, causation, brain development, neuropathology, responsibility, risk assessment in probation and parole, deception, memory, pain, and Non-Accidental Head Injury NAHI (or Shaken Baby Syndrome).  The Working Group that produced the report included experts in neuroscience, law, psychology and ethics, and was led by Professor Nicholas Mackintosh, FRS, of Cambridge University. 

Press Release:  http://royalsociety.org/news/legal-applications-of-neuroscience/

Link to the Report:

http://royalsociety.org/uploadedFiles/Royal_Society_Content/policy/projects/brain-waves/Brain-Waves-4.pdf

 (4)   Careers in Neuroscience

“How Do You Get Involved in Neuroethics?”  Nicky Penttila of the Dana Foundation reports on a panel at the International Neuroethics Society annual meeting in Washington, D.C., November 10-11, 2011.  The report may be found at: <  http://dana.org/news/features/detail.aspx?id=34534 >.

This Listserv is produced by The MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Law and Neuroscience, headquartered at Vanderbilt University Law School, 131 21st Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37203.  For more information, please see: < />.  For phone inquiries, please call 615-343-9797.

To unsubscribe: send an email to Sarah Grove, Administrative Assistant to The MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Law and Neuroscience at < sarah.e.grove@vanderbilt.edu > with “Unsubscribe” in the subject line.

 

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Owen D. Jones
New York Alumni Chancellor's Chair in Law
Professor of Biological Sciences 
Director, MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Law and Neuroscience

Vanderbilt University
131  21st Avenue, South
Nashville, TN 37203-1181

website:                                 http://law.vanderbilt.edu/jones
publications
:                        click here

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