Computational Modeling in Pediatric Mental Health

Abstract

Computational modeling has recently become of great interest to mental health clinicians as a tool for discovering the nature of pathophysiology and for clinical assessment, prediction, and treatment. Computational psychiatry is a term used to describe the application of computational modeling to behavioral and mental health problems. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has taken an interest in computational modeling, suggesting applications of interest, such as understanding the neural basis of mental illness, discovering new treatments, and predicting treatment response.¹ In this brief overview, our goal is to touch on major themes that have emerged in computational psychiatry.