Ethical positions that underpin global brain data governance discourse.

The study of the brain continues to produce brain data used for various purposes such as the treatment of brain related diseases, the development of neurotechnological devices and the training of algorithms. This brain data which is generated in different jurisdictions is used under different ethical and legal principles which raises various ethical and legal concerns during collaborations. Understanding these ethical and legal principles and concerns is important as it serves as a catalyst for developing a global governance framework which is currently lacking. Therefore, this study explores the ethical positions that underpin current brain data governance discourse using a secondary analysis of interviews with neuroscientists to understand ethical and legal principles and concerns using neuroscientists as key stakeholders who apply current ethical and legal principles. The results of the study produced various ethical views and positions. The study provides an understanding of the embedded ethical positions in brain data governance discourse using ethical theories which advances the current understanding of the different attitudes attributed to practical application of ethical and legal principles in the conduct of brain data research.