Neurolaw

Neurolaw is an emerging field of study that seeks to explore the effects of discoveries in neuroscience on law and legal standards. It is also the subject of a 2007 article in the New York Times Magazine entitled "The Brain on the Stand".

It is distinct from bioethics and neuroethics in that it applies broader societal and philosophical discourses from those fields to the quotidian realities of the legal system.

Some questions to which neurolaw practitioners seek answers include:


 * How will increasingly accurate lie detection systems impact the credibility of eyewitnesses in our court system?
 * How will new insight into brain disorders affect legal notions of intent and culpability?
 * Why would legal standards change in the face of developments in neuroscience? Should they change?  If so, why should they change? Why not?
 * Who will be responsible for the integration of new neuroscience into our legal system - judges, legislators, executive leaders, scientists, or some combination thereof?