Psychological continuity & personal identity
The proposed right to preserve the continuity of one's personality, identity, and sense of self against non-consensual change by neurotechnology. It is motivated by reports that deep-brain stimulation and related interventions can shift personality traits, preferences, or the patient's felt authenticity of their own choices.
The empirical basis is genuinely contested. Some qualitative studies report identity or personality changes after DBS; systematic critiques (for example by Gilbert and colleagues) argue that the 'DBS changes personality' narrative is amplified by a small number of dramatic cases and by weak measurement, and that many patients report a restored rather than lost identity. The right is best framed as protecting against a real but variable risk, not a demonstrated universal effect.