Ethical and legal challenges of neurorights: contributions and dilemmasfrom their regulatory development in Chile
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18041/2215-8944/academia.30.12977Keywords:
ethics, Human rights, neurorights, neuroscience, neurotechnologyAbstract
Innovations in neuroscience and neurotechnology present ethical and legal challenges that require new reflections on human rights.1 This paper addresses neurorights as a normative response to the challenges and concerns related to mental privacy, cognitive freedom, and the physical and mental integrity of individuals.2 Through an analysis of the Chilean context, this study examines how these rights have been integrated into the country's constitutional legal framework, exploring the contributions and dilemmas arising from their regulatory development.3 The aim of this work is to analyze the ethical and legal impact of neurorights and the implications they hold for both the protection of fundamental rights and the regulation of research and innovation in neuroscience and neurotechnology, with a focus on the Chilean case.4 This analysis underscores the importance of adapting legal systems to neurotechnological advances without hindering scientific innovation, while safeguarding human rights.
References
Aguilera, J. R., & Silva, N. W. (2023). Neuroderechos un intento de protección jurídica a las personas frente al uso de neurotecnologías. Revista de Direito Sanitário, 23, e0014. https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.2316-9044.rdisan.2023.194202
Álamos, M. F., Kausel, L., Baselga-Garriga, C., Ramos, P., Aboitiz, F., Uribe-Etxebarria, X., & Yuste, R. (2022). A Technocratic Oath. In Protecting the Mind: Challenges in Law, Neuroprotection, and Neurorights (pp. 163–174). Springer. https://doi.org/10.2861/869928
Alston, P. (1984). Conjuring up new human rights: A proposal for quality control. American Journal of International Law, 78(3), 607–621. https://doi.org/10.2307/2202599
Álvarez, J. (2013). Neuroética como neurociencia de la ética. Revista de Neurología, 57(8), 374–382. https://doi.org/10.33588/rn.5708.2013246
Álvarez, J. (2019). Neuroética: Relaciones entre mente/cerebro y moral/ética. Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana.
Araujo, J. (2022). Las Neurociencias y su impacto en el Derecho. El papel del Cerebro en el quehacer jurídico. El Neuroderecho. Revista Mexicana de Medicina Forense y Ciencias de la Salud, 7(1). https://www.medigraphic.com/cgi-bin/new/resumen.cgi?IDARTICULO=103546
Asimov, I. (2006). Visiones de robot. Deusto.
Ball, A. (2023). The Mind-body Problem and Cognitive Neuroscience: A Brief History and Outlook. Brain Matters, 6(1), 15–18. https://ugresearchjournals.illinois.edu/index.php/brainmatters/article/view/883/817
Bamberg, M., Demuth, C., & Watzlawik, M. (Eds.). (2021). The Origin and Development of the Concept of Identity. In The Cambridge Handbook of Identity (pp. 23–98). Cambridge University Press; Cambridge Core. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108755146.002
Bargmann, C., & Newsome, W. (2014). The brain research through advancing innovative neurotechnologies (BRAIN) initiative and neurology. JAMA Neurology, 71(6), 675–676. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaneurol.2014.411
Baselga, C., Rodriguez, P., & Yuste, R. (2022). Neuro rights: A human rights solution to ethical issues of neurotechnologies. In Protecting the Mind: Challenges in Law, Neuroprotection, and Neurorights (pp. 157–161). Springer. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-94032-4_13
Bobbio, N. (1991). El tiempo de los derechos. Sistema.
Boletín No. 13827-19. Proyecto de ley 21833 de 2021. Octubre 7 de 2020. [enlace sospechoso eliminado]
Borbón, D., Borbón, L., & León, M. (2021). Neuroderecho al acceso equitativo a tecnologías de mejora. Análisis desde el posthumanismo, el derecho y la bioética. Revista Iberoamericana de Bioética, 16, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.14422/rib.i16.y2021.006
Borbón, D., Borbón, L., Mora, X., & Villamil, S. (2023). El preocupante clausulado de la Ley Modelo de Neuroderechos del Parlatino. IUS ET SCIENTIA, 9(2), 228–260. https://doi.org/10.12795/IESTSCIENTIA.2023.i02.11
Borbón, D., & Muñoz, J. (2024). El neuroderecho a la libertad cognitiva: Fundamentos y alcance de un derecho emergente. Ius et Scientia, 10(1), 103–131. https://doi.org/10.12795/IESTSCIENTIA.2024.i01.05
Brems, E. (1997). Enemies or allies? Feminism and cultural relativism as dissident voices in human rights discourse. Human Rights Quarterly, 19(1), 136–164. https://doi.org/10.1353/hrq.1997.0003
Bublitz, J. C. (2022). Novel neurorights: From nonsense to substance. Neuroethics, 15(1), 7. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12152-022-09481-3
Bublitz, J., & Merkel, R. (2014). Crimes against minds: On mental manipulations, harms and a human right to mental self-determination. Criminal Law and Philosophy, 8, 51–77. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11572-012-9172-y
Cabrera, L. Y., & Weber, D. (2023). Rethinking the ethical priorities for brain–computer interfaces. Nature Electronics, 6(2), 99–101. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41928-023-00928-w
Cáceres, E., & López, C. (2022). El neuroderecho como un nuevo ámbito de protección de los derechos humanos. Cuestiones Constitucionales, 1(46), 65–92. https://doi.org/10.22201/iij.24484881e.2022.46.17048
Camargo, R., & Ried, N. (2021). Neurociencia y derecho. El impacto del neuroderecho en la práctica judicial chilena. Revista Chilena de Derecho, 48(3), 107–129. https://doi.org/10.7764/R.483.5
Carbonell, M. (2017). La Declaración Universal de Derechos Humanos de la ONU: Esperanza y frustración. Revista de la Facultad de Derecho de México, 59(251), 11–26. https://doi.org/10.22201/fder.24488933e.2009.251.60856
Cardoso, R. (2021). Neuroderecho y la Neurociencia del libre albedrío: Una visión general. SCIO: Revista De Filosofía, 21, 55–81. https://doi.org/10.46583/scio_2021.21.843
Casal, Simón. (Director). (2024). Justicia artificial [Película]. Abano Producións, Tornasol Media, Ukbar Films.
Churchland, P. (1989). Neurophilosophy: Toward a unified science of the mind-brain. MIT Press.
Churchland, P. (2022). What is Neurophilosophy and How Did Neurophilosophy Get Started? Journal of NeuroPhilosophy, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6637568
Clapham, A. (2015). Human rights: A very short introduction. Oxford University Press.
Cortina, A. (2012). Neuroética y neuropolítica. Sugerencias para la educación moral. Tecnos.
Cortina Orts, A. (2019). Ética de la inteligencia artificial. Anales de la Real Academia de Ciencias Morales y Políticas, 1, 379–394. https://www.boe.es/biblioteca_juridica/anuarios_derecho/articulo.php?id=ANU-M-2019-10037900394
de Asís, R. (2022). Sobre la propuesta de los neuroderechos. Derechos y Libertades, 47(2), 51–70. https://doi.org/10.20318/dyl.2022.6873
Denno, D. W. (1988). Human biology and criminal responsibility: Free will of free ride. University of Pensylvannia Law Review, 137, 615–671. https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/faculty_scholarship/122
Díez, L. (2005). Sistema de derechos fundamentales. Thomson.
Donnelly, J. (2007). The relative universality of human rights. Human Rights Quarterly, 29(2), 281–306. http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/hrq.2007.0016
Donnelly, J. (2013). Universal human rights in theory and practice. Cornell University Press.
Frazzetto, G., & Anker, S. (2009). Neuroculture. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 10(11), 815–821. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn2736
Frigato, G. (2021). The neural correlates of access consciousness and phenomenal consciousness seem to coincide and would correspond to a memory center, an activation center and eight parallel convergence centers. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389%2Ffpsyg.2021.749610
Fu, R., Huang, Y., & Singh, P. V. (2020). Artificial intelligence and algorithmic bias: Source, detection, mitigation, and implications. In Pushing the Boundaries: Frontiers in Impactful OR/OM Research (pp. 39–63).
García, A., & Abellán, J. (2019). Derechos humanos, libre albedrío y neuroética. Retos biojurídicos de las neurotecnologías emergentes. Medicina y Ética, 30(3), 1031–1100. https://revistas.anahuac.mx/index.php/bioetica/article/view/458
Giménez, J., & Sánchez, S. (2021). De la Neurociencia a la Neuroética: Narrativa científica y reflexión filosófica. EUNSA.
Goering, S., Klein, E., Specker Sullivan, L., Wexler, A., Agüera y Arcas, B., Bi, G., Carmena, J. M., Fins, J. J., Friesen, P., & Gallant, J. (2021). Recommendations for responsible development and application of neurotechnologies. Neuroethics, 14(3), 365–386. https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs12152-021-09468-6
Goldstein, E. (2020). The mind: Consciousness, prediction, and the brain. MIT Press.
Haidt, J. (2012). El perro emocional y su cola racional: Un enfoque intuicionista social del juicio moral. In A. Cortina (Ed.), Guía comares de neurofilosofía práctica. Comares.
Haidt, J. (2019). La mente de los justos. Planeta.
Honneth, A. (2011). La sociedad del desprecio. Trotta.
Ienca, M. (2021). On neurorights. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 15, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2021.701258
Ienca, M., & Andorno, R. (2017). Towards new human rights in the age of neuroscience and neurotechnology. Life Sciences, Society and Policy, 13, 1–27. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40504-017-0050-1
Illes, J., & Bird, S. (2006). Neuroethics: A modern context for ethics in neuroscience. Trends in Neurosciences, 29(9), 511–517. https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.tins.2006.07.002
Kulynych, J. (1997). Psychiatric neuroimaging evidence: A high-tech crystal ball? Stanford Law Review, 49(5), 1249–1270. https://doi.org/10.2307/1229252
Ley 19628 de 1998. Sobre protección de la vida privada. Agosto 18 de 1999. https://www.bcn.cl/leychile/navegar?idNorma=141599
Ley 21833 de 2021. Modifica la carta fundamental, para establecer el desarrollo científico y tecnológico al servicio de las personas. Octubre 25 de 2021. https://www.bcn.cl/leychile/navegar?idNorma=1166983&tipoVersion=0
Libet, B., & Cortina, A. (2012). ¿Tenemos voluntad libre? In Guía comares de neurofilosofía práctica (pp. 217–234). Comares.
Ligthart, S., Bublitz, C., & Alegre, S. (2023). Neurotechnology: We need new laws, not new rights. Nature, 620(7976), 950. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-02698-z
Ligthart, S., Ienca, M., Meynen, G., Molnar-Gabor, F., Andorno, R., Bublitz, C., Catley, P., Claydon, L., Douglas, T., & Farahany, N. (2023). Minding rights: Mapping ethical and legal foundations of ‘neurorights’. Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, 32(4), 461–481. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0963180123000245
Marcus, S. (2002). Neuroethics: Mapping the field: Conference proceedings. Dana Press.
Mascitti, M. (2022). El rango constitucional de los neuroderechos como una exigencia de justicia. Cuestiones Constitucionales, 46, 149–176. https://doi.org/10.22201/iij.24484881e.2022.46.17051
Markram, H. (2012). The human brain project. Scientific American, 306(6), 50–55. https://doi.org/10.1038/scientificamerican0612-50
Masi, M. (2023). An evidence-based critical review of the mind-brain identity theory. Frontiers in Psychology, 14(1150605). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1150605
Maslen, H., Douglas, T., Cohen Kadosh, R., Levy, N., & Savulescu, J. (2014). The regulation of cognitive enhancement devices: Extending the medical model. Journal of Law and the Biosciences, 1(1), 68–93. https://doi.org/10.1093/jlb/lst003
McAdams, D. (2008). The person: An introduction to the science of personality psychology. John Wiley & Sons.
Mölder, B., & Churchland, P. (2015). Neuroscience is relevant for philosophy. Problemos, 88, 176–186. https://doi.org/10.15388/Problemos.2015.88.8487
Mora, F. (2007). Neurocultura: Una cultura basada en el cerebro. Alianza.
Moreu, E. (2022). La regulación de los neuroderechos. Revista General de Legislación y Jurisprudencia, 1, 69–98. https://doi.org/10.30462/rglj-2022-01-04-840
Muñoz, J., & Marinaro, J. (2022, julio 20). Neuroderechos: De la novedad a la reconceptualización. Agenda Estado de Derecho. https://agendaestadodederecho.com/neuroderechos-de-la-novedad-a-la-reconceptualizacion/
Muñoz, J., & Marinaro, J. (2023). Neurorights as reconceptualized human rights. Frontiers in Political Science, 5, 1–5. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpos.2023.1322922
Obama Whitehouse. (2013, abril 2). About the BRAIN Initiative. https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/BRAIN
Palacios, L. (2020). Abriendo la caja negra: Una historia de la neurociencia. Editorial Universidad del Rosario.
Paredes, F., & Quiroz, C. (2022). Neuroderechos en Chile: Estado del arte y desafíos. In A. D’Ávila, F. Paredes, A. Pereira, & A. Passos (Eds.), Neurodireito, Neurotecnologia e Direitos Humanos (p. 69). Livraria do Advogado.
Quian, R. (2008). NeuroCienciaFicción. Cómo el cine se adelantó a la ciencia. Sudamericana.
Rainey, S., Martin, S., Christen, A., Mégevand, P., & Fourneret, E. (2020). Brain recording, mind-reading, and neurotechnology: Ethical issues from consumer devices to brain-based speech decoding. Science and Engineering Ethics, 26, 2295–2311. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-020-00218-0
Reche, N. (2021). Nuevos derechos frente a la neurotecnología: La experiencia chilena. Revista de Derecho Político, 112, 417–445. http://dx.doi.org/10.5944/rdp.112.2021.32235
Restak, R. (1996). Brain Damage and Legal Responsibility. Seminars in Clinical Neuropsychiatry, 1(3), 170–171. https://doi.org/10.1053/scnp00100170
Ríos, A. A. (2022). Neuroderechos desde una actualización a la privacidad mental. Revista Jurídica IUS Doctrina, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.15517/id.2022.53004
Rodríguez, M. (2010). La nueva generación de derechos humanos: Origen y justificación. Dykinson.
Roskies, A. (2002). Neuroethics for the new millenium. Neuron, 35(1), 21–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0896-6273(02)00763-8
Ruiz, M. (2015). Neurociencia, derecho y derechos humanos. RDUNED: Revista de Derecho UNED, 17, 1249–1277. http://dx.doi.org/10.5944/rduned.17.2015.16288
Sánchez, D., & Rivera, J. (2024). Neuroderechos y transhumanismo: Análisis sobre el acceso equitativo al aumento mental y la identidad personal. Boletín Mexicano de Derecho Comparado, 57(169), 277–305. https://doi.org/10.22201/iij.24484873e.2024.169.19102
Shen, F. (2010). The law and neuroscience bibliography: Navigating the emerging field of neurolaw. International Journal of Legal Information, 38(3), 352–399. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0731126500005916
Soto, B. (2023). El Derecho Humano a la Integridad Mental. Revista de Ciencias Jurídicas, 160, 1–34. https://doi.org/10.15517/rcj.2023.53826
Stammers, N. (1999). Social movements and the social construction of human rights. Human Rights Quarterly, 21(4), 980–1008. https://www.proquest.com/docview/1297954390?sourcetype=Scholarly%20Journals
Trabucco, F. R. (2023). Neurorights between ethical and legal implications. Cuadernos de Derecho Transnacional, 15(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.20318/cdt.2023.7561
Yuste, R., & De La Quadra, T. (2023). Neuro-rights and new charts of digital rights: A dialogue beyond the limits of the law. Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies, 30, 1–15. http://dx.doi.org/10.2979/gls.2023.a886161
Yuste, R., Goering, S., Arcas, B. A. y, Bi, G., Carmena, J. M., Carter, A., Fins, J. J., Friesen, P., Gallant, J., & Huggins, J. E. (2017). Four ethical priorities for neurotechnologies and AI. Nature, 551(7679), 159–163. https://doi.org/10.1038/551159a
Zúñiga, A., Miranda, L. V., Miralles, D. Z., & Venegas, R. S. (2021). Neurorights in Chile: Between neuroscience and legal science. Developments in Neuroethics and Bioethics, 4, 165–179. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.dnb.2021.06.001
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Academia & Derecho

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.