Confronting ethical and social issues related to the genetics of musicality

Gordon, Reyna L.; Martschenko, Daphne O.; Nayak, Srishti; Niarchou, Maria; Morrison, Matthew D.; Bell, Eamonn; Jacoby, Nori; Davis, Lea K.

Abstract

New interdisciplinary research into genetic influences on musicality raises a number of ethical and social issues for future avenues of research and public engagement. The historical intersection of music cognition and eugenics heightens the need to vigilantly weigh the potential risks and benefits of these studies and the use of their outcomes. Here, we bring together diverse disciplinary expertise (complex trait genetics, music cognition, musicology, bioethics, developmental psychology, and neuroscience) to interpret and guide the ethical use of findings from recent and future studies. We discuss a framework for incorporating principles of ethically and socially responsible conduct of musicality genetics research into each stage of the research lifecycle: study design, study implementation, potential applications, and communication.

Citation

Gordon, R. L., Martschenko, D. O., Nayak, S., Niarchou, M., Morrison, M. D., Bell, E., …Davis, L. K. (2023). Confronting ethical and social issues related to the genetics of musicality. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1522(1), https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.14972

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Online Publication Date: Feb 27, 2023
• Publication Date: 2023
• Deposit Date: May 22, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: May 22, 2023
• Journal: Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
• Print ISSN: 0077-8923
• Electronic ISSN: 1749-6632
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 1522
• Issue: 1
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.14972