NIMH to Change Diagnoses of Mental Disorder With Genetic, Physiologic and Cognitive Data

How certain mental disorders are diagnosed is about to change. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, researchers will be moving away from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, sometimes known as the psychiatrist's "bible."

Rest assured, this change will not alter the diagnoses or treatment in the clinic. Instead, many predict that with NIMH funding, patients will be diagnosed in less traditional manners and not limited to a single study case.

"Studies of biomarkers for 'depression' might begin by looking across many disorders with anhedonia or emotional appraisal bias or psychomotor retardation to understand the circuitry underlying these symptoms," NIMH director Thomas Insel wrote, according to a statement.

The information involving the new guidelines shows that the classifications for some mental disorders have spurred controversy, particularly those surrounding sexual fetishes.  

Compared with the NIMH's shift, however, the DSM changes are minor, and the agency is looking to improve the way mental disorders are identified in general.  

"Unlike our definitions of ischemic heart disease, lymphoma or AIDS, the DSM diagnoses are based on a consensus about clusters of clinical symptoms, not any objective laboratory measure," Insel wrote.

The NIMH is also launching the Research Domain Criteria Project, with the goal to "transform diagnosis by incorporating genetics, imaging, cognitive science and other levels of information to lay the foundation for a new classification system."

The decade-long project will require researchers to include patients across DSM categories, or to subdivide the categories, when conducting research trials.

"We need to begin collecting the genetic, imaging, physiologic and cognitive data to see how all the data - not just the symptoms - cluster and how these clusters relate to treatment response," Insel wrote.  

The agency acknowledged that such a shift will be a challenge in a time of limited funding and budget cuts, but said that patients should welcome the step toward better diagnosis and understanding of mental disorders.

The information will be available in it's fifth version this May, published by the American Psychiatric Association.