In a landmark 2021 report, the National Academy of Sciences said that such research offers promise for understanding the human brain — but that this promise must be carefully weighed against ethical concerns.

“We can’t subject your brain to a variety of nasty stuff and then take it out and look at it. That’s called murder,” said Stanford bioethicist Hank Greely, director of the Stanford Program in Neuroscience, who was tapped by the university to evaluate the project’s ethical issues. “This is a good way to learn more about human disease in a way you can’t in humans.”

While the ethical concerns of current research can be addressed by existing oversight mechanisms, the issues will need to be reassessed as the science develops, he said.