Neuroeconomics, informed consent, and decision-making
Keywords:
neuroeconomics, informed consent, neuroethics, cognitive autonomy, artificial intelligenceAbstract
Introduction: The research analyzes the ethical implications of informed consent in the era of neuroeconomics, where neuroscience, artificial intelligence and neuromarketing converge. These disciplines make it possible to record and model neural processes associated with decision-making, risk and reward, raising questions about cognitive freedom and personal autonomy. Method: The study was developed under a hermeneutical qualitative approach, with the participation of seventy university students from various areas of economics, psychology, law, communication and engineering, selected through intentional sampling. Through semi-structured interviews and focus groups, their perceptions of technological influence, consent, and moral responsibility were explored. Results: The findings showed a partial awareness of the impact of intelligent systems on daily and academic decisions. The automatic acceptance of terms without critical reflection predominates, while autonomy is perceived as limited by digital dependence and technological convenience. Conclusions: Informed consent has become a formal practice lacking ethical analysis, which requires strengthening university education in neuroethics, cognitive rights, and critical thinking. Higher education must guarantee a culture of conscious decision and protect mental freedom against neurotechnological manipulation.
References
AlRoshoud, A. N., & El-Gohary, H. O. (2024). Exploring the impact of combining neuromarketing and AI adoption on the perceived effectiveness of social media advertising campaigns. International Journal of Customer Relationship Marketing and Management, 15(1), 1–26. https://doi.org/10.4018/IJCRMM.361975
Apriliany, F., Takahashi, M., & Matsuura, Y. (2024). Bridging brains and bots: The impact of AI on neuromarketing. Procedia Computer Science, 246, 1830–1839. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2024.09.687
Bashir, S., Mir, A., Altwajiri, N., Uzair, M., Khalil, A., Albesher, R., Khallaf, R., Alshahrani, S., & Abualait, T. (2023). Neuroeconomics of decision-making during COVID-19 pandemic. Heliyon, 9(2), e13252. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e13252
Bechara, A., & Damasio, A. R. (2005). The somatic marker hypothesis: A neural theory of economic decision. Games and Economic Behavior, 52(2), 336–372. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geb.2004.06.010
Bossaerts, P., & Murawski, C. (2015). From behavioural economics to neuroeconomics to decision neuroscience: The ascent of biology in research on human decision making. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 5, 37–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2015.07.001
Chau, M., Rahman, M. G., & Debnath, T. (2025). From black box to clarity: Strategies for effective AI informed consent in healthcare. Artificial Intelligence in Medicine, 167, 103169. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.artmed.2025.103169
DeWitt, E. E. J. (2014). Neuroeconomics: A formal test of dopamine’s role in reinforcement learning. Current Biology, 24(8), R321–R324. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2014.02.055
Feng, C., Liu, Q., Huang, C., Li, T., Wang, L., Liu, F., Eickhoff, S. B., & Qu, C. (2024). Common neural dysfunction of economic decision-making across psychiatric conditions. NeuroImage, 294, 120641. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2024.120641
Frydman, C., & Camerer, C. F. (2016). The psychology and neuroscience of financial decision making. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 20(9), 661–675. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2016.07.003
Gobierno de Chile. (2021). Ley N.º 21.383 que modifica la Constitución Política para proteger la integridad y la indemnidad mental mediante el desarrollo de las neurotecnologías. Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional de Chile. https://www.bcn.cl/leychile/navegar?idNorma=1158791
González-Peña, P., Torres, R., del Barrio, V., & Olmedo, M. (2017). Uso de las nuevas tecnologías por parte de los psicólogos españoles y sus necesidades [Use of information and communication technologies by Spanish psychologists, and their needs]. Clínica y Salud, 28(2), 81–91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clysa.2017.01.001
Kocaçınar, B., İnan, P., Nur Zamur, E., Çalışmıșek, B., Patlar Akbulut, F., & Catal, C. (2024). NeuroBioSense: A multidimensional dataset for neuromarketing analysis. Data in Brief, 53, 110235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2024.110235
Lara, R. S., & Bokoch, R. (2021). Cognitive functioning and social media: Has technology changed us? Acta Psychologica, 221, 103429. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2021.103429
Levy, L., Wexler, A., & Feinsinger, A. (2025). Responsible neural technology development: Ethical issues and challenges. In Neural Interfaces (pp. 245–260). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-443-24824-5.00013-2
Lima Junior, W. T., Welter, R. A., Ferreira, W. P., Souza, R. F., & Eduardo, T. (2025). Human robot interaction (HRI): An artificial cognitive autonomy approach to enhance decision-making. Cognitive Systems Research, 91, 101336. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogsys.2025.101336
Mudrik, L., Gur Arie, I., Amir, Y., Shir, Y., Hieronymi, P., Maaz, U., O'Connor, T., Schurger, A., Vargas, M., Vierkant, T., Sinnott-Armstrong, W., & Roskies, A. (2022). Free will without consciousness? Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 26(7), 555–566. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2022.03.005
Núñez-Cansado, M., Carrascosa Méndez, G., & Juárez-Varón, D. (2024). Analysis of the residual effect using neuromarketing technology in audiovisual content entrepreneurship. Sustainable Technology and Entrepreneurship, 3(3), 100069. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stae.2023.100069
Pereira, R., Córdova, F. M., & Díaz, H. A. (2022). Some experiences in neuromarketing: Moving from white papers to scientific inquiries. Procedia Computer Science, 199, 1409–1415. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2022.01.178
Privitera, A. J., Ng, S. H. S., & Chen, S. H. A. (2023). Defining the science of learning: A scoping review. Trends in Neuroscience and Education, 32, 100206. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tine.2023.100206
Quiles Pérez, M., Martínez Beltrán, E. T., López Bernal, S., Horna Prat, E., Montesano Del Campo, L., Fernández Maimó, L., & Huertas Celdrán, A. (2024). Data fusion in neuromarketing: Multimodal analysis of biosignals, lifecycle stages, current advances, datasets, trends, and challenges. Information Fusion, 105, 102231. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.inffus.2024.102231
Quiles Pérez, M., López Bernal, S., Horna Prat, E., Montesano Del Campo, L., Fernández Maimó, L., & Huertas Celdrán, A. (2025). EEG channel reconstruction using convolutional neural networks in limited BCIs: A proposed method for neuromarketing applications. Applied Soft Computing, 181, 113455. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asoc.2025.113455
Robinson, J. T., Rommelfanger, K. S., Anikeeva, P. O., Etienne, A., French, J., Gelinas, J., Grover, P., & Picard, R. (2022). Building a culture of responsible neurotech: Neuroethics as socio-technical challenges. Neuron, 110(13), 2057–2062. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2022.05.005
Sætra, H. S., & Mills, S. (2022). Psychological interference, liberty and technology. Technology in Society, 69, 101973. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2022.101973
UNESCO. (2023). Recomendación sobre la Ética de la Neurotecnología. Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Educación, la Ciencia y la Cultura. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000386859
Vlăsceanu, S. (2014). New directions in understanding the decision-making process: Neuroeconomics and neuromarketing. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 127, 758–762. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.03.350
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Francisco Kroff Trujillo, Ana Isabel Mendoza-Mardones (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
The article is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. Unless otherwise stated, associated published material is distributed under the same licence.
