Abstract

This article provides a review and a perspective on the interaction between neuroscience and the media. It situates public discourse and the communication of neuroscience in an intricate web of social expectations and ethical responsibilities that converge and diverge between different stakeholders such as academic researchers, public sponsors of research, and the interested public. The article highlights some of the key ethical and social challenges that emerge when neuroscientists interact with the media. This study shows that the media manifests important shortcomings in matters of neuroscience explanations and fosters some unrealistic expectations for the outcomes of neuroscience. It concludes with attention to some of the research and practical questions that need further attention in matters of ethics and communication in neuroscience. This article relies on a number of assumptions that need to be acknowledged from the onset. They explain the view that the communication of neuroscience is of crucial importance for neuroethics.