The Case for Neuroinnovation: Health Burdens Associated with Psychiatric, Addiction-Related, and Co-occurring Disorders

Abstract

The global disease burden of mental, neurological, and substance use disorders is high, and an estimated one in four individuals globally will experience mental illness within their lifetimes. Increasingly, an appreciation of the need to better understand, prevent, and treat these disorders has gained traction as a matter of policy. The United Nations General Assembly adopted the World Health Organization’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015, codifying global health targets, including those for mental illness and addiction, as a priority for the upcoming 15 years. At a national level, the United States’ National Institute of Health’s BRAIN Initiative has awarded over $1.3 billion towards the goal of developing innovative tools and technologies fundamental to deepening our understanding of the structure and functioning of the brain. These novel methods hold great promise for better understanding, and ameliorating, the causes and consequences of mental disorders, including addiction.