Determination of language dominance using functional MRI

TLDR

The “therapeutic misconception” occurs when research volunteers misinterpret the intentions of researchers, falsely attributing therapeutic benefit to clinical studies and thereby compromising informed decision‑making and ethical integrity. The authors review recent evidence from the neurobiology of social cognition to propose a novel framework for understanding therapeutic misconception and suggest mitigation strategies. They examine how neurobiological insights into social cognition can inform ethical analyses of clinical trial participation. The review demonstrates that doctor‑patient dynamics can undermine informed consent and offers approaches to reduce therapeutic misconception.

Abstract

The “therapeutic misconception” describes a process whereby research volunteers misinterpret the intentions of researchers and the nature of clinical research. This misinterpretation leads research volunteers to falsely attribute a therapeutic potential to clinical research, and compromises informed decision making, therefore compromising the ethical integrity of a clinical experiment. We review recent evidence from the neurobiology of social cognition to provide a novel framework for thinking about the therapeutic misconception. We argue that the neurobiology of social cognition should be considered in any ethical analysis of how people make decisions about participating in clinical trials. The neurobiology of social cognition also suggests how the complicated dynamics of the doctor-patient relationship may unavoidably interfere with the process of obtaining informed consent. Following this argument we suggest new ways to prevent or at least mitigate the therapeutic misconception.