Functional Imaging in Clinical Assessment? The Rise of Neurodiagnostics with fMRI

This article provides an update on progress in the use of neuroimaging for predicting clinical states, with particular attention to diagnosis. It discusses the underpinnings of the blood oxygenation level-dependent response used in fMRI, as well as issues involved in measuring this signal reliably. The article then considers the logic underpinning the development of models based on brain data to examine latent states, such as deception, and latent traits, such as the diagnosis of schizophrenia. It concludes that neuroimaging, while not currently a practical tool for clinical assessment, is likely to provide an important avenue of new ideas. Biomarkers, such as those derived from neuroimaging, are likely to have a role in understanding dimensionality and the common origins of certain disorders (for example, depression and anxiety) by providing biological principles around which to organize thinking in these areas.