Cited by 443Mental Health Research TopicsMental Health and PsychiatryFunctional Brain Connectivity Studies

The Heterogeneity Problem: Approaches to Identify Psychiatric Subtypes

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Feczko, Eric, Miranda-Dominguez, Oscar, Marr, Mollie, Graham, Alice M., Nigg, Joel T., Fair, Damien A.·2019·Trends in Cognitive Sciences

Abstract

The imprecise nature of psychiatric nosology restricts progress towards characterizing and treating mental health disorders. One issue is the 'heterogeneity problem': different causal mechanisms may relate to the same disorder, and multiple outcomes of interest can occur within one individual. Our review tackles this heterogeneity problem, providing considerations, concepts, and approaches for investigators examining human cognition and mental health. We highlight the difficulty of pure dimensional approaches due to 'the curse of dimensionality'. Computationally, we consider supervised and unsupervised statistical approaches to identify putative subtypes within a population. However, we emphasize that subtype identification should be linked to a particular outcome or question. We conclude with novel hybrid approaches that can identify subtypes tied to outcomes, and may help advance precision diagnostic and treatment tools.

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Authors
Feczko, E., Miranda-Dominguez, O., Marr, M., Graham, A. M., Nigg, J. T., & Fair, D. A.
Affiliations
Oregon Health & Science University (US)
Corresponding author
  • Feczko, Eric
  • Fair, Damien A.
Venue
Trends in Cognitive Sciences
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2019-07
Volume
23
Issue
7
Pages
584-601
ISSN
1364-6613 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2947752575
Cited by
443
References
126
Citations by year
2026: 51 · 2025: 69 · 2024: 83 · 2023: 88 · 2022: 59 · 2021: 43 · 2020: 40 · 2019: 9 · 2013: 1
FWCI
5.63
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Trends in Cognitive Sciences (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • DeStefano Family Foundation
  • National Library of Medicine (T15 LM007088)
  • National Institute of Mental Health (R01 MH096773, R00 MH091238, R01 MH096773-03S1, R01 MH 096773–05, R01 MH086654, R01 MH59107)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Mental Health Research Topics
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Philosophy › Mental Health and Psychiatry
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Functional Brain Connectivity Studies
Keywords
psychiatric classification, dimensional models, curse of dimensionality, supervised learning, unsupervised learning, precision psychiatry, mental illness, causal mechanisms
MeSH terms
Mental Disorders, Brain, Cognition, Humans, Individuality, Models, Statistical

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