Table 1 National Institute of Mental Health Strategic Goal 1.4: Develop, for research purposes, new ways of classifying mental disorders based on dimensions of observable behavior and neurobiological measures

1

Initiate a process for bringing together experts in clinical and basic sciences to jointly identify the fundamental behavioral components that may span multiple disorders (e.g., executive functioning, affect regulation, person perception) and that are more amenable to neuroscience approaches.

2

Determine the full range of variation, from normal to abnormal, among the fundamental components to improve understanding of what is typical versus pathological.

3

Develop reliable and valid measures of these fundamental components of mental disorders for use in basic studies and in more clinical settings.

4

Integrate the fundamental genetic, neurobiological, behavioral, environmental, and experiential components that comprise these mental disorders.