Is there mathematics to madness?

Abstract

It’s hard to understand how heart failure can cause shortness of breath without some understanding of the role a pump plays in maintaining pressure gradients. The brain performs functions which are of a computational nature. Hence, a computational approach is likely necessary if we are to deeply understand disorders of brain function—particularly psychiatric disorders, where biological disturbances can be very subtle. More broadly, an understanding of the functions of an organ is critical if we are to comprehend the symptoms arising from disease in that organ. Computational psychiatry is a young field that attempts to harness the advances in computational progress for improved understanding, prognosis and treatment of mental illness. It lies at the interface of psychiatry, experimental and clinical psychology, neuroscience, machine learning, artificial intelligence and computational neuroscience.1 Computational psychiatry broadly encompasses two types of approaches. Data-driven approaches harness the advances in artificial intelligence, computational resources and big datasets. The theoretical branch, on the other hand, attempts to build mathematical or computational models of the relevant neural, circuit or cognitive processes.2