Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Mar;21(1):19-27.
doi: 10.1007/s11673-023-10256-5. Epub 2023 Jul 19.

Brain-Computer Interfaces, Completely Locked-In State in Neurodegenerative Diseases, and End-of-Life Decisions

Christopher Poppe  1 , Bernice S Elger  2   3
Affiliations

Brain-Computer Interfaces, Completely Locked-In State in Neurodegenerative Diseases, and End-of-Life Decisions

Christopher Poppe et al. J Bioeth Inq. 2024 Mar.

Abstract

In the future, policies surrounding end-of-life decisions will be faced with the question of whether competent people in a completely locked-in state should be enabled to make end-of-life decisions via brain-computer interfaces (BCI). This article raises ethical issues with acting through BCIs in the context of these decisions, specifically self-administration requirements within assisted suicide policies. We argue that enabling patients to end their life even once they have entered completely locked-in state might, paradoxically, prolong and uphold their quality of life.

Keywords: ALS; Assisted suicide; Brain; End of life; Locked-in state; Withdrawing treatment; computer interfaces.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

None

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Aust E, Linse K, Graupner ST, et al. Quality of life and mental health in the locked-in-state—differences between patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and their next of kin. Journal of Neurology. 2022;269(11):1–16. doi: 10.1007/s00415-022-11238-0. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bernat JL. Medical decision making by patients in the locked-in syndrome. Neuroethics. 2020;13(2):229–238. doi: 10.1007/s12152-018-9358-7. - DOI
    1. Bosshard G, Jermini D, Eisenhart D, Bär W. Assisted suicide bordering on active euthanasia. International Journal of Legal Medicine. 2003;117(2):106–108. doi: 10.1007/s00414-002-0346-3. - DOI - PubMed
    1. British Medical Association. 2021. Physician-assisted dying legislation around the world. Map of international jurisdictions. https://www.bma.org.uk/media/4402/bma-where-is-pad-permitted-internation.... Accessed October 10, 2021.
    1. Bublitz C, Wolkenstein A, Jox RR, Friedrich O. Legal liabilities of BCI-users: Responsibility gaps at the intersection of mind and machine? International Journal of Law and Psychiatry. 2018;65:101399. doi: 10.1016/j.ijlp.2018.10.002. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types