Call for Papers: Concussion/mTBI

Got this in an email. This may be of interest to some of the readers here as concussion/mTBI has been so prevalent in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. (UPDATE: New rules about TBI related conditions were just released for the VA. See the stories here and here.) Though the call for papers focuses more on sports (though military as well), similar considerations apply to military situations in most cases. Here are some suggestions of mine that I would hope the journal might consider if anyone were to attempt a paper. Feel free to use them: 

(1) Overlooking TBIs: Does the medic work for the commander or the Soldier?; 

(2) Injurious Weapons: TBI as end result; 

(3) Designing TBI-resistant armor, what sacrifices are legitimate?; 

(4) Should soldiers be warned about TBI in advance? How?; 

(5) How to discharge a Soldier with TBI; 

(6) Should TBI victims get a Purple Heart? When?

Can you think of others?

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Call for papers:

This special issue of Neuroethics will focus on concussion and mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI). Concussion/mTBI affects millions of individuals each year and the long term neurological effects of concussion are currently being debated. Concussion is a common injury among professional, amateur and youth athletes in many sports, and has also been called the “signature injury” of military personnel in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. This significant public health problem has received considerable attention in the popular press, and is an area of active research in the neurosciences, but is an underdeveloped area of neuroethical inquiry.

Possible questions and topics for discussion include, but are not limited to:

What can/should neuroethics contribute to discussions about the diagnosis, treatment and management of concussion/mTBI in athletes or military personnel?

Ethical issues bearing upon physicians or other stakeholders in:

implementing or facilitating return-to-play, or return to active duty

preventing athletes from participating in high risk sports

condoning risky sports with their presence (e.g. the ringside doctor at a boxing match)

Conflicts of interest for sporting leagues, concussion experts, and other stakeholders

The team doctor or military physician as “company doctor”

Research ethics and concussion/mTBI

Ethical issues in the use of new technologies for diagnosing, treating or managing concussion/mTBI

Consent and the disclosure of risk

Preserving/protecting autonomy in the at-risk individual

Risky sport participation and the rights of children and adolescents

The ethical obligations of professional sporting leagues with high rates of concussion

Contributions from stakeholders and multidisciplinary scholars are encouraged. The editors welcome early discussion of proposals and/or abstracts by email.

Full papers are due by March 7, 2014. Manuscripts should be submitted to Neuroethics online at: http:// www.editorialmanager.com/nero using code “SI: concussion.” Manuscripts should be of a high quality and will be subject to the normal peer review process of Neuroethics. For submission requirements, format and referencing style, refer to the Author Guidelines at: http://www.springer.com/social+sciences/applied+ethics/journal/12152? detailsPage=societies