The role of neuroimaging in diagnosis and personalized medicine--current position and likely future directions

The main aim of this article is to discuss the current state of in vivo brain imaging methods in the context of the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness. The background to current practice is discussed, and the new methods introduced which may have the capacity to increase the relevance of magnetic resonance imaging, particularly functional magnetic resonance imaging, for clinical application. The main focus will be on magnetic resonance imaging, but many of the comments have a general relevance across imaging modalities.