Studying fine-grained elements of psychopathology to advance mental health science.

Abstract

Given the now well-recognized limitations of traditional classification systems for research, this editorial proposes to advance mental health science by focusing research efforts on studying fine-grained elements of mental health and illness such as symptoms, mechanisms, and processes. Our own perspectives are informed by three approaches in particular that have gained traction over the last decade: the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology, the network or systems approach, and the National Institute of Mental Health Research Domain Criteria. Drawing on these and other perspectives as well as the diverse views of the author teams that contributed to this Special Section, we summarize the state of the field and propose an ambitious plan for the way ahead. Specifically, we propose that embracing pluralistic, multimethod, and multisystem approaches offers a way forward. This will require strategies to reduce research waste and much stronger channels for communication to identify confluence, discoveries, and dead ends within and between disciplines. We are optimistic this will lead to a better understanding of the mechanisms underpinning psychopathology and ultimately to more effective interventions.

Informing the treatment of social anxiety disorder with computational and neuroimaging data

“…Santos et al ., 2019 ; Fig. 1C ), this method also demonstrates low replicability (Ashar et al ., 2021 ) reflecting issues concerning the reliability of fMRI measures (Noble et al ., 2019 ) and the heterogeneity of mental health disorders (Forbes et al ., 2023 ). As one example, significant within-group differences observed in precuneus and amygdala rsFC among individuals with SAD, in the absence of any group-level difference with healthy controls (Mizzi et al ., 2024 ), further necessitates an approach accounting for patient heterogeneity when employing a predictive (neural) model (Talmon et al ., 2021 ).…”