It’s official: the new National Center for Neurotechnology (named Spain Neurotech) will have a budget of 200 million euros and will be located next to the Madrid Science Park of the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM). Its objective will be to study the human brain and find a remedy for diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s or depression. This was signed this Friday by the Minister of Education, Science and Universities, Emilio Viciana, together with the Minister of Science, Innovation and Universities, Diana Morant and the rector of the UAM, Amaya Mendikoetxea on the Canto Blanco campus.
Specifically, the regional government will invest 78 million euros until 2037 in this initiative for the study of the human brain, with facilities that seek to become an international reference in the development of new advances through the integration of neurosciences, artificial intelligence and its ethical implications, and of which there are only five of its kind. For its part, the central government will contribute 120 million euros to the project, of which the Ministry of Digitalization and Public Service has already transferred the first 40 million euros to the Ministry of Science for its implementation.
However, this consensus has only reigned on paper, since in their speeches both the counselor and the minister have once again thrown poisoned darts at each other, as happened during the presentation of the María Goyri Program at the beginning of the month. In this act, Viciana has demanded to “prevent ideology from invading science or the university itself”, while Morant has asked her to convey to the president, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, that “the agreements make us better to continue betting on the future.” and the progress of the people of Madrid.
“The Administration must respect the rule of law and the principles of equal opportunities, merit and capacity, which will be the best guarantee of continuity of the projects and the best source of respect from public opinion,” the counselor stressed. «It is also essential to prevent ideology from invading science or the university itself. Scientific thinking must be the most opposite to any ideology.
In line, he has defended that science “starts from ideas that are subjected to reasoning processes to demonstrate their validity, which are always taken provisionally” and has called for “guaranteeing that the university and research are free, plural and of quality.”
For her part, the minister has defended that the Government of Spain “will continue investing so that this autonomous community continues to progress through public services as decisive as its public universities, as well as the National Center for Neurotechnology.”
«This center will help us develop the ethical and legal rules necessary to guarantee the new digital rights. “We explicitly defend neurorights, which are nothing other than putting respect for human rights before any other consideration,” the minister concluded in reference to Viciana’s request, who “objected” to the concept of ‘neuroright’. «I think it needs to be rethought and that perhaps it has no reason to exist. I invite this consortium to include the best independent jurists in its research and consultations, because law is also science. And although the jurist should not do biology or neurology, but rather regulate them, the neurologist or biologist should not do legal theory,” he concluded.
A cutting-edge center
The National Center for Neurotechnology program has been designed by a team led by the director of the Center for Neurotechnology at Columbia University in New York, Rafael Yuste, ideologist of the BRAIN Project, a pioneer in developing methods to record brain activity and be able to change it. ; In addition, the professor of Electrical Engineering and Neuroscience at the University of California-Berkeley, José Carmena, also participated; and the professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School, Álvaro Pascual-Leone.
Its main objective is to design technological tools that are based on the fundamentals of the human brain. These will be put at the service of society with great impact in areas such as health and the fight against certain clinical pathologies, such as chronic diseases in early stages, neurodevelopmental disorders including autism spectrum disorder (ASD), as well as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s. , depression, sleep disorders, heart rhythm disorders or sequelae after acute and acquired brain damage.
Likewise, the foundation of companies is sought that transform the potential of the research results generated through the establishment of agreements and co-financing in projects and in the commercial exploitation of the results, such as patents and other results of commercial interest.
In this project, the department that will ensure the ethical and legal aspects associated with the evolution of new neurotechnology will have a prominent importance.
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