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Biomarkers in psychiatry

Nature volume 460, pages 202–207 (2009)Cite this article

The use of biomarkers to predict human behaviour and psychiatric disorders raises social and ethical issues, which must be resolved by collaborative efforts.

Scientific innovations that will ultimately improve psychiatric outcomes and general well-being are to be welcomed. But they must be scrutinized to assess their value to the general public. Despite the wealth of research into biomarkers and the considerable interest in their use in clinical and non-clinical situations, there has been little discussion of the social, ethical and legal problems posed by their use in psychiatry. Here we set out the key challenges in this area. We focus on interventions in children and adolescents, particularly those aimed at preventing behavioural problems. The identification of biomarkers in these age groups forms an important research agenda and the initial pathways through which this research is being translated from the laboratory to the clinic, as well as the classroom and other locations, can already be observed.

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Figure 1: Rising interest in biomarkers and psychiatry.
Figure 2: Issues that influence the use of biomarkers in psychiatry and beyond.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ilina Singh and Nikolas Rose are at the BIOS Centre, London School of Economics, Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE, UK. i.a.singh@lse.ac.uk,

    Ilina Singh & Nikolas Rose

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  1. Ilina Singh
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Singh, I., Rose, N. Biomarkers in psychiatry. Nature 460, 202–207 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/460202a

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