The Science and Ethics of Antipsychotic Use in Children

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, the country’s highest recognition of its citizens, in 2017.

1: A Brief History of the Science and Ethics of Antipsychotics and Off-label Prescribing 2: Pharmacoepidemiology of antipsychotic use in Canadian children and adolescents 3: Do We Know if they Work and if they are Safe: Second Generation Antipsychotics for treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorders and Disruptive Behavior Disorders in Children and Adolescents. 4: Ensuring the safety of children treated with second-generation antipsychotics 5: Pediatric clinical trial activity for antipsychotics and the sharing of results - a complex ethical landscape 6: Pathways to Overmedication and Polypharmacy: Case Examples from Adolescents with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders 7: Implementing Change in Prescribing Practices 8: Canadian initiatives and recommendations: Safeguarding the health of children and youth receiving off-label treatment with antipsychotics