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This chapter reviews the major epidemiological studies performed in the field of autism (including so-called ASDs). Studies published in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and from 2000 are considered. It is shown that autistic disorder occurs in approximately 0.2% of the general population of children. Spectrum disorders, including Asperger syndrome, are probably considerably more common than “classic” autism. The link between ASD and male gender remains strong according to recent prevalence studies, but it is likely that females are currently underdiagnosed. The link between autism and various other types of brain disorders and brain damaging factors is strong, although the pattern is different and more complex once the whole spectrum of clinical presentations of autism is taken into account.

The literature often under-describes the definitions of biomarkers and bioprediction, which leads to needless confusion and disagreement; it is not uncommon to encounter scientists or neuroethicists who hold very different assumptions about what, in fact, a biomarker is. This chapter provides sufficient background on the types and properties of biomarkers to avoid these common confusions and to enable the clear articulation of the chapter’s reoriented model of disorder. The chapter illustrates this taxonomy of biomarkers by applying it to the history of the disorder of metabolism, Phenylketonuria (PKU). The chapter also discusses this book’s focus on the bioprediction of brain disorder and why the ethics of biomarkers is especially important in the context of psychiatry and neurology.

A number of non-independent factors, such as neurotransmitter and receptor excesses and reductions, a reduced ability to generate oscillations and synchrony, and changes in gene expression due to primary genetic or environmental causes, may compromise dynamic coordination. This chapter focuses on brain disorders that have been linked to dynamic coordination failures, including autism, epilepsy, amblyopia, schizophrenia, Williams syndrome, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease.

This chapter provides a brief overview of the “historical” findings and some of the most relevant observations that advance the understanding of the amazing complexity of neuron-astrocyte partnership in the function of the brain. It describes the role of astrocyte in behavior. It discusses the role of astrocytes in epilepsy. This chapter suggests that astrocytes might hold the key to understanding the pathogenesis of brain disorders. It looks at the role of astrocytes in the processing of sensory information and in the genesis of brain disorders.

A willing addict is one who reflectively endorses their addiction. Some say that there are no willing addicts, only unwilling addicts who are trying to stop but not succeeding, or resigned addicts who are so demoralized they have stopped trying to stop. Willing addiction reminds us that addiction is a phenomenon that involves a person-with-a-lifestyle-inside-an-ecology, that there are good-making features of using even addictively, and that addiction involves many of the same complex, negotiated features (experiential, personal, interpersonal, structural, and cultural) of other person-level lifestyle choices. Willing addiction shows that concepts such as choice, voluntariness, and reflective endorsement have a place in the psychology and phenomenology of addiction. There are implications for the psych-bio-politics of addiction and for the implausible idea that addiction is a brain disorder. Addiction is not a brain disorder, although certain aspects or features of addiction involve brain disorders.

Spurred by the therapeutic promise of early identification and treatment, the pursuit of biomarkers for brain disorders gallops forth at an unprecedented pace. Here the chapter introduces cases that illustrate the core neuroethics issues of this book: how the development of predictive biomarkers (bioprediction) is poised to change how we relate to diagnostic categories, the extent of our obligations to others, who we punish—and how much, and how we should distribute resources. He also introduces a key concept of this book—that meaningful progress in discussing how the development of biomarkers should change these domains requires a shift towards thinking about disorders not as things that one has or does not have but primarily as categories that signal salient risks of harm (sometimes defined by biomarkers). The chapter finishes with an outline of the structure of the book and offers some guidance to readers about how to get the most out of it.

Developmental brain disorders, such as developmental dyslexia, specific language impairment (SLI), autism spectrum of disorders (ASD), and oral clefts, include perceptual-cognitive deficits of language, audition, attention, and memory. It is important to detect these dysfunctions in early childhood in order to determine how the development of perception and cognition differs from the typical course and to design interventions supporting development. The MMN, being elicited from the foetal stage onwards, is a promising tool for this purpose. It has illuminated low-level perceptual-cognitive dysfunctions in these disorders and shows promise as an early neural marker of future language-related dysfunction.