Why doesn't neuroimaging work in psychiatry?

Br J Psychiatry. 2026 Mar;228(3):185-186. doi: 10.1192/bjp.2025.10517. Epub 2025 Dec 17.

Abstract

Half a century of neuroimaging has transformed our understanding of psychiatric disorders but not our clinical practice. This piece examines why that promise remains unfulfilled and argues that the future lies not in ever newer tools but in rigorous, mechanistically grounded and clinically embedded imaging approaches that bridge brains, behaviours and treatments.

Keywords: MRI; Neuroimaging; biomarkers; diagnosis and classification; precision medicine.

MeSH terms

  • Brain* / diagnostic imaging
  • Humans
  • Mental Disorders* / diagnostic imaging
  • Neuroimaging* / methods
  • Neuroimaging* / trends
  • Psychiatry* / methods
  • Psychiatry* / trends