As a related note, these same guys have an entire suite of hardware and "protocols" that present neuroscience concepts on a relatable level for kids, such as realtime traces of neurons or even conduction studies on your own arm. I think it's unfair to pick out a single experiment with the roach backpack and condemn these guys as psychos. Taken as a whole, the backpack is merely a novelty trinket, and the rest of what they do seems educational and cool enough to justify using up a few roaches. Besides, the high cost of the products probably means that they'll see sales primarily to schoolteachers, where there will be adult supervision. Even if a parent buys one for their kid, they'll still be needed to help set everything up, or be around just to make sure that the hundred dollar chip doesn't run off or get stepped on. In any case, unless the adult is pretty negligent, I don't see these toys fostering psychopathic tendencies.
It's a shame that you have to use bugs for any of it to work, but let's be honest here: where the hell else is the average joe supposed to procure easily recordable live neural tissue? Actually, my only reservation to their work was the high price (a few hundred dollars for a somewhat comprehensive suite) and the fact that most kids hate big bugs and would stay far away from these cool toys.
