Clinical neuroscience and mental health: Filling the gap

Abstract

Recent developments in neuroscience can help inform clinicians› understanding of cognition, emotion, behavior, and social interactions—all critical aspects of people›s lives that are dramatically affected in psychiatric disorders. Psychiatry is informed by a broad range of basic biological and social sciences and has at its disposal many tools, like brain imaging, genetics, neuropsychopharmacology, neurophysiology, epidemiological models, and neuropsychology, for developing new assessment and treatment approaches, grounded in understanding of etiology and pathophysiology. However, psychiatry as clinical neuroscience must strengthen its partnerships with the disciplines of public health, community and behavioral health science, and health economics. The WPA Action Plan 2017-2020 supports psychiatrists to promote mental health and improve care capacity, like service development, awareness raising and advocacy, education, research and publications. Establishing new approaches in publishing innovative research findings, I suggest that the creation of the new journal, Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience & Mental Health, will contribute to guiding this interdisciplinary field in new directions.