Expanding the Reach of Biological Psychiatry with Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging

Abstract

Over the past decade, the application of the tools and constructs of cognitive neuroscience to psychopathology research has evolved from a specialized niche area in the field to the dominant approach in clinical neuroscience. The development and widespread availability of magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography scanners and other tools, along with a suite of applications for structural, functional, and molecular image analysis, has transformed the field of psychiatric research. New approaches to electroencephalography analyses (complemented by less widely available but powerful magnetoencephalography methods) and intracranial recording in human subjects that link measures related to brain electrical activity to specific cognitive and emotional processes have led to a resurgence of research using these methods in basic and clinical cognitive neuroscience. The introduction of noninvasive brain stimulation methods, such as transcranial magnetic stimulation, direct current stimulation, and deep brain stimulation, has enabled us to test models of causality within functional brain circuitry, and the incorporation of these methods into neuroimaging and electrophysiology studies is offering new insights into normal and abnormal brain function and opening new avenues for intervention. Furthermore, numerous new methods for recording brain activity, stimulating neural activity, and combining these approaches in closed loop systems are under development in synch with the BRAIN (Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies) Initiative in the United States. These new methods for probing the human brain in health and disease will allow us to leverage insights from basic molecular and cellular systems and computational neuroscience to advance the field toward a mechanistic understanding of psychopathology and a mechanism-informed approach to treatment development. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging provides the bridge between the basic knowledge that we derive from research in animal model systems and symptoms and behavior in mental health research. Biological Psychiatry, a rapid-publication, high-impact journal of translational neuroscience, has long been a preferred destination for authors seeking to disseminate their work widely in the field. Over the past several years, Biological Psychiatry has expanded its reach and impact in the field of behavioral and imaging studies and sought to raise the bar, setting high standards (which continue to evolve) for the design, analysis, and interpretation of these studies. With the