Timing in psychiatry: exploring resonance in biological systems for treatment of mental disorders

In mood disorders, the duration of symptoms is key, since observed behavior might be considered as physiological responses to environmental stress. Studies have connected biological features to clinical observations, however full profiling is difficult to obtain and rare in literature, generally targeting one domain in restricted settings. The acquisition of technologies such as mobile phones and wearables enabled intensive data collection in ecologically valid scenarios (Ecological Momentary Assessment, EMA). We explore an intervention strategy making use of resonance in biological systems. Specifically, spectral decomposition of behavioral data may leverage the search for ‘sweet spots’ when planning schedules for intervention. One could then target moments when patients are more susceptible to beneficial changes in treatment. Successful cases in endocrinology and cardiology illustrate how this rationale is used by other medical specialties. We describe two experiments deploying mobile data capture of affective states and investigate how it relates to biological phenotypes . The Brazilian High Risk Cohort is a 9-year long ongoing cohort investigating neurodevelopment. It includes genotyping, genetic expression and repeated measures neuroimaging. ARKETP is a small-scale double-blind clinical trial comparing isomers of ketamine for treatment resistant depression, including a set of biological measures (e.g. BDNF, Interleukins, TNF-alfa, IFN-G and microRNA).