Draft:Prince Albert School Study
The Prince Albert School Study (PASS) was controversial brainwave research conducted by American scientist James Hardt. There were 60 study participants, mostly indigenous children aged 12–15, and Allan Markin offered $6 million in funding to pay for travel and lodging costs. The study was promoted by the Saskatchewan Rivers School Division and received ethics approval from the University of Regina. Study participants were placed alone in dark rooms for several hours a day and listened to sound that was purportedly created by their brainwaves, as well as being placed in group discussions where they were asked about traumatic events they had experienced. Hardt hoped that by conducting this research, he could prove that delta brainwaves change physical reality, and give people supernatural abilities like flying or walking on water.[1] This research was conducted from 2014 to 2016.[2]
Methodology
[edit]While the study received ethics approval from the University of Regina, numerous concerns were expressed about the research's methodology and lack of informed consent to research participants.[1] The university has since stated that it was given "incomplete information" about the intended research. It may have been approved despite this lack of information because a professor that claimed indigenous ancestry, Carrie Bourassa, was involved with it.[3] Hardt claimed that there were no possible side effects to his research, but brainwave stimulation is known to sometimes cause adverse effects such as anxiety and depression. One neuroscientist uninvolved with the study, Ainat Rogel, believed that several hours of brainwave stimulation went beyond what was ethically responsible. When interviewed, she stated that research from 2015 demonstrates that children can only handle this activity for a few minutes a day, and was concerned that children were were left alone while this research was conducted. The president of the International Society for Neuroregulation and Research was surprised that this study received ethics approval and believed it to be irresponsible, noting that this research had not even been tested on adults.[1]
Legacy
[edit]The PASS study was reported on by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in early 2024, which scientist Janice Parente noticed as she was working on a book about ethics oversight in Canada at the time. She reached out to the Secretariat on the Responsible Conduct of Research, an agency of the federal government, about the study and discovered that such privately funded research is not considered to be under their jurisdiction. Parente stated that this means that 85% of research conducted in Canada has no ethical oversight, with research subjects only recourse being the court system.[2]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c Leo, Geoff. "Inside the brain school". CBC News. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
- ^ a b Leo, Geoff. "'No consequences' for violating human rights in privately funded research in Canada, says ethics expert". CBC News. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
- ^ Rennebohm, Jackson. "U of R REB was given incomplete information, did not flag as concerning". The Carillion. Retrieved 2024-12-13.