The Science and Ethics of Antipsychotic Use in Children

The Science and Ethics of Antipsychotic Use in Children reviews the latest findings for the safety and efficacy of the rapidly rising incidence of antipsychotic use in children and examines tensions that are created by off-label use, both in clinical psychiatric practice and research.In the past ten years, the number of antipsychotics prescribed to children with psychiatric disorders has skyrocketed. Despite this rapid growth, most medications have been inadequately studied in children for safety or efficacy and many have serious adverse health. Measures are needed to ensure that the health and safety of children are being protected, and debates have emerged over whether or not clinical trials in this population should be conducted.- Offers coverage of efficacy, prevalence, and adverse impacts of the use of antipsychotics in children- Explores ethics challenges of clinical research in this patient population- Serves as a platform for future discussions designed to increase the safety of children taking antipsychotics- Edited work with chapters authored by leading neuroethicists in the field around the globe – the broadest, most expert coverage available

About the Author

Senior Research Fellow at the University of British Columbia’s “National Core for Neuroethics, Dr. Di Pietro also serves as the Neuroethics Program Lead for NeuroDevNet (Canadian org focused on children’s neurodevelopmental disorders) and is described by one reviewer as “a rising force in the field of neuroethics and developmental neuroscience.”

Dr. Illes, trailblazing neuroethicist, is Professor of Neurology at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Distinguished University Scholar, UBC Distinguished Scholar in Neuroethics, and Director of Neuroethics Canada. She holds appointments in UBC’s School of Population and Public Health, and in Journalism, and in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Washington, in Seattle. She is a pioneer of the field of neuroethics through which she has made groundbreaking contributions to cross-cultural ethical, legal, social and policy challenges at the intersection of the brain sciences and biomedical ethics.

Dr. Illes received her PhD in Hearing and Speech Sciences and in Neuropsychology from Stanford University in 1987, and turned to ethics in 2000, 25 years ago. She was among the first to use high density EEG recordings and pattern recognition to understand language processing in neurodegenerative disease, and was part of the revolution that functional MRI introduced. Together with others whose vision for ethics for neuroscience led from within the neurosciences, Dr. Illes has not only placed neuroethics on the world map of , but has tirelessly trained the generation that leads it today, and already those who will lead it tomorrow.

Dr. Illes has published 11 edited volumes, including three handbooks in neuroethics and as Editor in Chief of the series of volumes for Developments in Neuroethics and Bioethics. She has led major research projects and hundreds of publications on invasive and noninvasive technologies, fixed and portable imaging systems such as MRI, biologics, pharmaceuticals, and devices, open science and intellectual property protections. In 2023, she released an award-winning film on neurotechnology ethics and decision-making for children with drug resistant epilepsy. Dr. Illes has also contributed significantly to the Canadian landscape in understanding crosscultural perspectives on brain and mind, including those of Indigenous People. She has received countless awards and recognitions for her empirical work and her mentoring alike.

Dr. Illes places a particular emphasis on issues of ethics in neuroscience with attention to biomedicine, innovations that seek to alleviate the burden of psychiatric and neurologic disease, including spinal cord injury, both expected and unexpected incidental findings, holism, human rights and health disparities. With this open and broad perspective, she capably leads the seven-nation International Brain Initiative dedicated to global neuroscience that is inclusive and politically free.

Dr. Illes was awarded the Order of Canada, one of the country’s highest recognition of its citizens, in 2017.