Describe ethical considerations related to research at the biological level of analysis

The case study of HM
Patient HM was a significant case study for neurological research in the 20th century; after a brain operation, patient HM lost his ability to remember information. More specifically, patient HM began suffering from severe amnesia following a bilateral medial temporal lobe resection. Patient HM was able to remember events from his childhood, but was unable to recall events from the few years leading up to the surgery. Corkin et al (1997) performed an MRI scan of of HM's brain, allowing researchers to obtain a precise image of the brain damage.
There were a number of ethical considerations pertaining to Corkin et al's study, including the lack of informed consent obtained. HM could not be fully informed or provide consent for this study as he lacked the basic cognitive functioning to do so. Additionally, participant protection was limited; although HM was protected from harm in the majority of studies, HM underwent electric shocks as part of research into his cognitive functioning, undoubtedly resulting in mental and physical distress. Moreover, confidentiality was breached when patient HM's real name was revealed, as well as being readily identifiable in video footage. In conclusion, the majority of memory studies on patient HM did not meet the ethical requirements for research in brain functioning and would not be approved by ethical committee boards today.