They discuss these deficits from the perspective of neuroeconomics, an interdisciplinary field that studies the process of decision-making, and related investigations in animals.
"This paper suggests a future in which a cluster of important symptoms for some psychopathology is isolated, classified according to the information-based scheme outlined by Chang et al. and then used to guide the production of a model organism exhibiting deficits in a contributing neural system," commented neuroeconomics expert P. Read Montague at Virginia Tech. "These possibilities are quite exciting not only because of the possible insights into basic mechanisms, but also because of the potentially fruitful interplay with clinical applications."
"Every day, millions of people struggle with mental illness. While great progress has been made in our understanding of mental illnesses, we lack an adequate framework for connecting mental illness with the underlying problems in the brain," saidstudy's first author Steve Chang, postdoctoral fellow at Duke University and member of the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences. "Our understanding of electrical circuits and recent animal studies in the field of neuroeconomics provides novel insights into the ways neural circuits might fail, resulting in specific symptoms. Our hope is that these insights spur new research and ideas in the treatment of mental disorders."
"In an era where psychiatry hopes to draw tighter links between brain biology and diagnosis, it is important to find ways to begin the discussion about how this might be accomplished," commented Dr. John Krystal, Editor of
Biological Psychiatry. This study is a step in that direction.
Source: Eurekalert
