Abstract

If the new and rapidly expanding discipline of neuroethics Recently, the use of psychotropic drugs has increased in Quebec. Several factors may explain it, including expanded uses which aim to improve cognitive function in the absence of known mental problems. Theses uses involve ethical and social choices, which go beyond the medical setting and include the public participation of experts and citizens. This article lays out the position of the Quebec’s Science and Technology Ethics Commission, which has addressed this issue and published a position statement in autumn 2009. We present two categories of expanded uses, namely the “Medical” and the “Lifestyle”. Then we focus on values and ethical issues related to expanded uses. These ethical issues pose a challenge for the individual, the State, the media and the pharmaceutical industry; and they play out in the short, medium and long term. In addressing these issues, the Commission makes several recommendations