Functional neuroimaging in psychiatry and the case for failing better.

Nour MM., Liu Y., Dolan RJ.

Psychiatric disorders encompass complex aberrations of cognition and affect and are among the most debilitating and poorly understood of any medical condition. Current treatments rely primarily on interventions that target brain function (drugs) or learning processes (psychotherapy). A mechanistic understanding of how these interventions mediate their therapeutic effects remains elusive. From the early 1990s, non-invasive functional neuroimaging, coupled with parallel developments in the cognitive neurosciences, seemed to signal a new era of neurobiologically grounded diagnosis and treatment in psychiatry. Yet, despite three decades of intense neuroimaging research, we still lack a neurobiological account for any psychiatric condition. Likewise, functional neuroimaging plays no role in clinical decision making. Here, we offer a critical commentary on this impasse and suggest how the field might fare better and deliver impactful neurobiological insights.

DOI

10.1016/j.neuron.2022.07.005

Type

Journal article

Publication Date

2022-08-17T00:00:00+00:00

Volume

110

Pages

2524 - 2544

Total pages

20

Keywords

EEG, MEG, cognitive neuroscience, computational psychiatry, electroencephalography, fMRI, functional magnetic resonance imaging, magnetoencephalography, precision psychiatry, Brain, Electroencephalography, Functional Neuroimaging, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Magnetoencephalography, Neuroimaging, Psychiatry

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