The Ethical Views of Turkish Researchers and the Ethics Committees on Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation

Abstract Background: Clinical and research use of transcranial magnetic and direct current stimulation are becoming more common in Turkey. However, the opinions of the researchers and ethics committees about the ethical dimension of the issue differ. The aim of this study is to examine the ethical views of the researchers and committees and to review the legal procedures of the clinical and research NIBS applications in Turkey. Methods: The data were collected from researchers working with NIBS, ethics committee representatives and official regulatory agency. The surveys prepared by researchers were sent to them, and an interview was conducted with the TİTCK-KAD representative. Quantitative analysis was performed for multiple-choice and short-answer questions, while thematic analysis was performed for open-ended answers. Results: In the first survey, 99 researchers with a mean age of 38.9±10.5 years and most of them being female (65.65%) participated. 44.4% of the researchers were medical doctors, 21.21% were psychologists, 24.24% were other health professionals (mostly physiotherapists), and 10.10% were from other fields (engineers, educators, etc.). 94% of the researchers stated that the NIBS practitioner should undergo a standardized training. Different rates were obtained in the items related to the effectiveness of NIBS, self-administration, ethical and legal issues. It appeared that 94.37% of the researchers applied to the Clinical Research Ethics Committees in Turkey. Conclusion: Researchers in Turkey agree on the clinical use and efficacy of NIBS. However, when it comes to improving cognitive and physical performance in healthy people, they are largely hesitant both in terms of efficacy and morality. This attitude is very similar to that of other researchers around the world. In terms of ethics committees, it is observed that local ethics committees are not sufficiently aware of the issue and that there are some differences in practice.