The psychiatric investigator may face dilemmas arising from the ethical obligation to obtain a patient's "fully informed" consent for the use of an experimental drug, a placebo, or a form of therapy that may produce unwanted side effects. Research may also be complicated by the obligation to respect the confidentiality of physician-patient communications. Observing that there are no easy answers to the questions he raises, the author concludes that human responsibility is one of the most important elements in psychiatric research.Abstract Teaser