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Functional neuroimaging in child psychiatry

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Abstract

Functional neuroimaging in child psychiatry presents unique scientific, ethical, and technical challenges. The study of childhood disorders presupposes knowledge of neurodevelopment and brain maturation. However, much of human brain science is based on inferences from animal work and indirect neurochemical measures from body fluids. Neuroimaging can examine brain development directly in humans. The benefits can be enormous for learning how and when to intervene to prevent or treat a disorder. These unprecedented potential gains are countered by complex and difficult ethical issues. Technical advances can reduce ethical concerns by minimizing risks. They also promise to enhance the sensitivity and specificity of the measures (eg, by improving spatial and temporal resolution). Judiciously designed investigations will permit the testing of a priori hypotheses built on rational models of neuropathology. Finally, it is the integration of scientific knowledge across the various fields of neuroscience and clinical research that will push the limits of our understanding of health and disease.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Brain Imaging Center, National Institute on Drug Abuse, 5500 Nathan Shock Drive, 21224, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Monique Ernst MD, PhD

  2. Clinical Neuroscience Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, 6001 Executive Boulevard, 20857, Rockville, MD, USA

    Judith M. Rumsey PhD

Authors
  1. Monique Ernst MD, PhD
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  2. Judith M. Rumsey PhD
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Ernst, M., Rumsey, J.M. Functional neuroimaging in child psychiatry. Curr Psychiatry Rep 2, 124–130 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-000-0056-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-000-0056-9

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