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This week's Neuroethics discussion topic is addressing a more or less unknown psychiatric condition, formerly know as apotemnophilia, now called Body Integrity Identity Disorder. As you will read, it is a disorder characterized by a chronic desire to amputate one's own limb or extremity because of distress associated with its presence. Please read the attached article and write a response addressing the ethics surrounding this issue, and the measures that should be taken in terms of its treatment. What may cause such a strange, horrifying disorder? What should neuroscientists and psychiatrists consider when trying to formulate an appropriate treatment for a patient with this disorder? When, if ever, would it be appropriate to actually consider amputating a BIID patient's limb? These are some of the things you should be thinking about when responding.
The link to the article is here:
Out on Limb
And a supplementary website with more information is here:
www.biid.org
Please post your responses on the CU Neuroscience facebook page as well as posting them into your student journals. These are due September 25th!!!
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