Publication
Precision behavioral phenotyping as a strategy for uncovering the biological correlates of psychopathology
Publisher:
Center for Open Science
Date:
27-10-2022
DOI:
10.31219/OSF.IO/GEH6Q
Abstract: Our capacity to measure erse aspects of human biology in vivo has developed rapidly in the past decades, but the rate at which these techniques have generated translatable insights into the biology of psychopathological conditions has lagged far behind. This slow progress is partly due to the poor sensitivity, specificity, and replicability of many findings in the literature, which have in turn been attributed to small effect sizes, small s le sizes, and low statistical power. A commonly proposed solution is to rely on large, consortia-sized s les to facilitate discovery of replicable findings. Here, we argue that increasing s le sizes will have limited impact unless a more fundamental issue is addressed: the precision with which target behavioral phenotypes are measured. We discuss key problems and outline several ways forward, largely centered on the use of appropriate statistical models with deep, transdiagnostic assessment of hierarchically organized and homogeneous psychopathology dimensions across the full range of the severity spectrum. We provide worked ex les to demonstrate key problems and potential solutions. Arguably, a precision phenotyping approach can enhance the discovery and replicability of associations between biology and behavior, thereby facilitating insights into the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying psychiatric disorders.