Introduction and Structure of the Volume

Abstract

This introductory chapter provides a summary description of key developments in the neurosciences and biomedical sciences that have compelled the topic of the volume—neural and cognitive markers. The emergence of “omics” disciplines is described—where large or complex data sets are deciphered with bioinformatics methods in a systems biology framework. The developments of phenomics in the context of genome-to-phenome mapping, connectomics in neuroscience, and Research Domain Criteria in psychiatry are then staged, as is the current research-scientific environment, characterized by data repositories and knowledge discovery systems. The central point converged upon is that the impact of systems biology necessitates that the clinical and behavioral neurosciences delineate cognitive and neural systems in a manner that can be integrated with broader scientific frameworks. This chapter also explains the volume’s adoption of the umbrella term “neurophenotype” and provides an operating definition of the term. The two-part structure of the volume is then laid out with the topic of each chapter summarized.