This issue of Acta Neuropsychiatrica has chosen a neuroimaging theme. The journal has returned to this topic after four years, having devoted an entire issue to imaging research in 2006. The need for an update is reflected in part by the many journals that are devoted solely to aspects of neuroimaging. It is an important field and one that is likely to continue to gain prominence in the coming decade.
A comprehensive clinical overview article published two years ago in our sister journal Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica detailed the emergence of newer technology and the ongoing improvements in analysis methodology that drive the development of new modalities and the conception of new insights in this field Reference Malhi and Lagopoulos(1). Neuroimaging is in essence an evolving science and one that has truly captured the imagination of neuropsychiatry researchers. Hence, in this issue, in addition to the original articles that focus on various aspects of neuroimaging, we have published a review by Chisea at al Reference Chisea, Brambilla and Serretti(2) that examines the functional neural correlates of mindfulness meditations. This erudite review interrogates the extant data to determine whether there is a link between the mechanisms that underpin psychotherapeutic, pharmacological and placebo effects. The subsequent original articles embrace collectively a number of modalities that include structural, functional and multimodal imaging. Specifically, Sui et al Reference Sui, Wu, King, Zhang, Ling, Xu, Weng, Duan, Shan and Li(3) describe their findings from a study of grey matter changes in rape victims with PTSD using voxel-based morphometry. Calhoun et al Reference Calhoun, Wu, Kiehl, Eichele and Pearlson(4) report their findings from an investigation into aberrant processing in schizophrenia using a fusion of functional MRI and EEG, and finally, Mortensen et al Reference Mortensen, Rasmussen and Håberg(5) report on an experiment that probes impulsivity in borderline disorder.
In addition to these excellent articles, our regular sections—in particular Brain Bytes and Pics & Prose—provide succinct insights into the evolution of neuropsychiatric neuroimaging and the potential application of neuroimaging to the exploration of cerebral metabolic pathways. As technological advancement accelerates unabated it is conceivable that one day we will perhaps be in a position to capture our imagination using neuroimaging, ‘literally’.
