From brain networks to the patient-environment system in clinical neuroimaging

Despite major advances in clinical neuroimaging, our understanding of how neural processes contribute to psychiatric disorders remains limited. Clinical imaging studies have focused on identifying maladaptive brain networks and computations underlying psychiatric illness. However, these approaches overlook the action-oriented aspect of these disorders. In the present work, we first review the current information-processing approach in clinical neuroimaging. Then, we introduce an action-oriented conceptual framework, emphasizing that the body and the environment are just as important as the nervous system for explaining and understanding cognition. Finally, we show how recent technological developments, coupled with action-oriented theoretical frameworks, enable us to broaden the scope of brain imaging research to include the dynamic relationship between a patient’s bodily skills and the environment in which they are deployed. This perspective opens new avenues for using neuroimaging data to better understand the brain’s role in psychiatric disorders.