Senior Psychiatrists’ Criticisms of Psychiatric Diagnosis Based on Biomarkers and NIMH Director Tom Insel’s Research Domain Criteria (RDoC)
Resolving the confusion about the relationship between having a laboratory test or biomarker and a valid psychiatric diagnosis, and explaining why such tests are unlikely to be useful.
From NIMH (https://www.nimh.nih.gov/research/research-funded-by-nimh/rdoc/about-rdoc)
The takeaway message for today is that we should be skeptical of claims that simple standalone laboratory tests or functional neuroimagery will tell us much about the validity of psychiatric diagnosis or allow professionals to personally tailor mental health care to the needs of individual patients.
Mental health consumers should be wary of unsubstantiated claims about services offering brain scans or other biological measures to monitor psychotherapy outcomes, even when the ads bombard us on social media and come as full-length programs on NPR radio and television. I have watched these programs and I am awed at the persuasive hard-sell marketing to captivated audiences based on celebrity endorsements and miscited research.
Research Domain Criteria (RDoC)
The Director of the National Institute of Mental Health (2002-2015) Thomas Insel laid out his vision for Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) in a heavily…