The aim of this paper is to give an overview of some of the problems related to the practice of perfecting humans through genetic engineering, why it is precarious, and how this concept of creating humans with flawless genes has always been a part of human history, especially when considering the various eugenics movements and policies of the early 20th century. The central thesis of the text is that the production of human beings through genetic enhancement, although still unattainable, should (...) be carefully put on the table for discussion but avoided in practice. In fact, this type of human enhancement is at its core a form of modernised eugenics, so it is more practical to abandon the concept of building the perfect human. (shrink)

Emotions can have both enhancing and impairing effects on various cognitive processes, from lower to higher level processes. The present article discusses emerging brain imaging evidence linking these opposing effects of emotion, which points to overlapping and dissociable neural systems involving both bottom-up and top-down mechanisms. The link between the enhancing and impairing effects is also discussed in a clinical context, with a focus on posttraumatic stress disorder, where these opposing effects tend to co-occur, are exacerbated, and are detrimental. Overall, (...) the present review highlights the need to consider together enhancing and impairing effects of emotion on cognition in studies investigating emotion–cognition interactions. (shrink)