A behavioural neuroscientist wishes to study the potential of a new technology for restoring vision in people with damage to a specific region of the brain.Neuropsychologists have already done work with humans who have damage to that region and their results are encouraging but the number of people available for testing is too small to make definitive conclusions.The researcher proposes testing the effect of the technology on monkeys.In order to do that test she has to damage part of the brain of the monkeys and then check if the technology restores vision.Which of the following statements is true?
A)This research could never be approved by an ethics committee as it is obviously unethical.
B)This research could be approved but only if the researchers can guarantee that the treatment works.
C)The research could be approved by an ethics committee but only it if had community support.
D)The research could be approved by an ethics committee if they judged the perceived benefits of the research outweighed the harm to the animal.
E)None of the above.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

In order to conduct research involving animals, researchers must obtain approval from an ethics committee, which considers whether the perceived benefits of the research outweigh the harm to the animal. In this case, the researcher's goal is to restore vision in humans with brain damage. If successful, this technology could have a significant benefit for those individuals. Therefore, the ethics committee may judge that the potential benefits of testing the technology on monkeys outweigh the harm to the animals. However, the researcher would need to demonstrate that the research is necessary and that steps have been taken to minimize harm to the monkeys.

A Behavioural Neuroscientist Wishes to Study the Potential of a New