Exploring images of the brain in popular culture; media analysis and neuroethics in drama. (360G-Wellcome-093837_Z_10_Z)

The proposed visit has two main aims. The first is to disseminate Interior Traces1 which uses multimedia drama to explore issues in neuroethics to the Canadian Neuroethics community and local public audiences. Dr Whiteley will run a series of screenings, targetingneurology and psychiatry residents, undergraduate students in medicine and law, members of NeuroDevNet2, and the general public, accompanied by Café Scientifique-style discussions. She will also give seminars, and gather feedback that will contribute to a journal submission on the use of fictional narratives to explore bioethical issues. The second aim is to extend Dr Whiteley's previous research on what the representation of brain imaging in popular culture might reveal about anxieties surrounding neural and genetic determinism and identity. She will write up existing research, and collaborate on a new project contributing to our ongoing work atthe National Core for Neuroethics, systematically examining the use of images on websites that sell direct-toconsumer scans and treatments for mental illness and neural disorder. Dr Whiteley's visit will thus contribute new perspectives to the local neuroethics community and public communication landscape, as well as extending her skills and publication record in neuroethics research.