La autonomía progresiva y el neurodesarrollo de niñas, niños y adolescentes desde una perspectiva neuroética

Abstract

Progressive autonomy implies that children and adolescents make different decisions according to their degree of development. Certain developing cognitive and emotional functions, such as those related to decision-making capacity, are related to this type of autonomy. Recognizing the progressive autonomy in children and adolescents also implies the need to consider their dignity and vulnerability, since they cannot be left unprotected. Knowledge of neurodevelopment can then increase the understanding of the production mechanisms of autonomous decision-making in children and adolescents, and can also reveal biological, psychological and social traits associated with their condition of fragility and vulnerability. Thus, bioethics and neuroethics, together with neuroscience, may contribute to the characterization and understanding of specific aspects of the autonomy and vulnerability of children and adolescents, and with the respect for the principles that these (autonomy and vulnerability) represent.