Translational opportunities for circuit-based social neuroscience: advancing 21st century psychiatry

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Charles L Ford, Emory University; Larry Young, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2021-06-01
• Publisher: CURRENT BIOLOGY LTD
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.conb.2020.11.007
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: CURRENT OPINION IN NEUROBIOLOGY
• Volume: 68
• Start Page: 1
• End Page: 8
• Grant/Funding Information: This work was supported by National Institutes of Health grants P50MH100023 and R01MH112788 to LJY and NIH P51OD011132 to YNPRC.
• Keywords: ACTIVATION; REWARD; CONNECTIVITY; Neurosciences & Neurology; Neurosciences; NEURONS; OXYTOCIN RECEPTOR GENE; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; BEHAVIOR; INTRANASAL OXYTOCIN; RECOGNITION; ORGANIZATION; DEPRESSION; Science & Technology

Abstract

The recent advancements of social behavioral neuroscience are unprecedented. Through manipulations targeting neural circuits, complex behaviors can be switched on and off, social bonds can be induced, and false memories can be ‘incepted.’ Psychiatry, however, remains tethered to concepts and techniques developed over half a century ago, including purely behavioral definitions of psychopathology and chronic, brain-wide pharmacological interventions. Drawing on recent animal and human research, we outline a circuit-level approach to the social brain and highlight studies demonstrating the translational potential of this approach. We conclude by suggesting ways both clinical practice and translational research can apply circuit-level neuroscientific knowledge to advance psychiatry, including adopting neuroscience-based nomenclature, stratifying patients into diagnostic subgroups based on neurobiological phenotypes, and pharmacologically enhancing psychotherapy.