The Quest for Psychiatric Advancement through Theory, beyond Serendipity
Over the past century, advancements in psychiatric treatments have freed countless individuals from the burden of life-long, incapacitating mental illness. These treatments have largely been discovered by chance. Theory has driven advancement in the natural sciences and other branches of medicine, b...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2021-12-01
|
| Series: | Brain Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/12/1/72 |
| _version_ | 1797495398438273024 |
|---|---|
| author | Robert E. Kelly Anthony O. Ahmed Matthew J. Hoptman Anika F. Alix George S. Alexopoulos |
| author_facet | Robert E. Kelly Anthony O. Ahmed Matthew J. Hoptman Anika F. Alix George S. Alexopoulos |
| author_sort | Robert E. Kelly |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Over the past century, advancements in psychiatric treatments have freed countless individuals from the burden of life-long, incapacitating mental illness. These treatments have largely been discovered by chance. Theory has driven advancement in the natural sciences and other branches of medicine, but psychiatry remains a field in its “infancy”. The targets for healing in psychiatry lie within the realm of the mind’s subjective experience and thought, which we cannot yet describe in terms of their biological underpinnings in the brain. Our technology is sufficiently advanced to study brain neurons and their interactions on an electrophysiological and molecular level, but we cannot say how these form a single feeling or thought. While psychiatry waits for its “Copernican Revolution”, we continue the work in developing theories and associated experiments based on our existing diagnostic systems, for example, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), International Classification of Diseases (ICD), or the more newly introduced Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) framework. Understanding the subjective reality of the mind in biological terms would doubtless lead to huge advances in psychiatry, as well as to ethical dilemmas, from which we are spared for the time being. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:49:01Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5e09a14d90d64ea8824592ef57d26122 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3425 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:49:01Z |
| publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Brain Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-5e09a14d90d64ea8824592ef57d261222023-11-23T13:09:41ZengMDPI AGBrain Sciences2076-34252021-12-011217210.3390/brainsci12010072The Quest for Psychiatric Advancement through Theory, beyond SerendipityRobert E. Kelly0Anthony O. Ahmed1Matthew J. Hoptman2Anika F. Alix3George S. Alexopoulos4Department of Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medicine, White Plains, NY 10605, USADepartment of Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medicine, White Plains, NY 10605, USAClinical Research Division, Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY 10962, USATeachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USADepartment of Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medicine, White Plains, NY 10605, USAOver the past century, advancements in psychiatric treatments have freed countless individuals from the burden of life-long, incapacitating mental illness. These treatments have largely been discovered by chance. Theory has driven advancement in the natural sciences and other branches of medicine, but psychiatry remains a field in its “infancy”. The targets for healing in psychiatry lie within the realm of the mind’s subjective experience and thought, which we cannot yet describe in terms of their biological underpinnings in the brain. Our technology is sufficiently advanced to study brain neurons and their interactions on an electrophysiological and molecular level, but we cannot say how these form a single feeling or thought. While psychiatry waits for its “Copernican Revolution”, we continue the work in developing theories and associated experiments based on our existing diagnostic systems, for example, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), International Classification of Diseases (ICD), or the more newly introduced Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) framework. Understanding the subjective reality of the mind in biological terms would doubtless lead to huge advances in psychiatry, as well as to ethical dilemmas, from which we are spared for the time being.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/12/1/72mind–brain gapresearch methodsmetasciencepsychiatrymedical modelprecision medicine |
| spellingShingle | Robert E. Kelly Anthony O. Ahmed Matthew J. Hoptman Anika F. Alix George S. Alexopoulos The Quest for Psychiatric Advancement through Theory, beyond Serendipity Brain Sciences mind–brain gap research methods metascience psychiatry medical model precision medicine |
| title | The Quest for Psychiatric Advancement through Theory, beyond Serendipity |
| title_full | The Quest for Psychiatric Advancement through Theory, beyond Serendipity |
| title_fullStr | The Quest for Psychiatric Advancement through Theory, beyond Serendipity |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Quest for Psychiatric Advancement through Theory, beyond Serendipity |
| title_short | The Quest for Psychiatric Advancement through Theory, beyond Serendipity |
| title_sort | quest for psychiatric advancement through theory beyond serendipity |
| topic | mind–brain gap research methods metascience psychiatry medical model precision medicine |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/12/1/72 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT robertekelly thequestforpsychiatricadvancementthroughtheorybeyondserendipity AT anthonyoahmed thequestforpsychiatricadvancementthroughtheorybeyondserendipity AT matthewjhoptman thequestforpsychiatricadvancementthroughtheorybeyondserendipity AT anikafalix thequestforpsychiatricadvancementthroughtheorybeyondserendipity AT georgesalexopoulos thequestforpsychiatricadvancementthroughtheorybeyondserendipity AT robertekelly questforpsychiatricadvancementthroughtheorybeyondserendipity AT anthonyoahmed questforpsychiatricadvancementthroughtheorybeyondserendipity AT matthewjhoptman questforpsychiatricadvancementthroughtheorybeyondserendipity AT anikafalix questforpsychiatricadvancementthroughtheorybeyondserendipity AT georgesalexopoulos questforpsychiatricadvancementthroughtheorybeyondserendipity |