Toward More Objective Measures in Psychiatry
Journal Title: International Journal of Emergency Mental Health and Human Resilience - Year 2018, Vol 20, Issue 1
Abstract
The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Director, Joshua A. Gordon, has emphasized the need for biomarkers in psychiatry (Gordon, 2018). A biomarker is an objective biological finding associated with a disease. The advantages of such indicators are obvious-a biomarker provides a clue to addressing underlying pathology. For example, in Alzheimer’s disease, beta amyloid plaques and tau neurofibrillary tangles constitute specific foci for research, and accumulation of these substances in asymptomatic individuals may have predictive value (National Institute of Health, 2018). Considering this, it is not surprising that Alzheimer’s disease is currently one of the leading neuroscience conditions for research investment (Sperling, et al., 2014). Other examples of biomarkers are found in depression, where one “Biotype” was recently associated with better response to transcranial magnetic stimulation (Drysdale, et al., 2017) and where the cingulate cortex was associated with a differential response to medication and psychotherapy (Dunlop, et al., 2017).
Authors and Affiliations
James P Kelleher
Keywords
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- EP ID EP582898
- DOI 10.4172/1522-4821.1000e387
- Views 49
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