A Behavioural Neuroscientist Wishes to Study the Potential of a New

Multiple Choice

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.A protest group forms outside the laboratory where the research is being conducted.The leader of the protest volunteers to submit to the brain damaging intervention and treatment if the monkeys can be saved.Which of the following statements is true?

A) The researcher should definitely take up the offer.
B) The researcher should take up the offer but only if the protest ends.
C) The researcher should take up the offer but only if they are sure that the treatment works.
D) The researcher should not take up the offer unless the ethics committee orders it.
E) Not enough information has been supplied to answer this question, but, on its own, simply replacing animal participants with willing humans could never address all relevant ethical issues.