Evidence, evidence-based medicine, and evidence utility in psychiatry and electrophysiology

In this issue a series of outstanding and comprehensive reviews of the progress of electrophysiological biomarkers or endophenotype indicators in psychiatric illnesses is presented. These reviews establish presence of electrophysiological abnormalities in symptom-based diagnoses of schizophrenia, dementia, anxiety disorders, substance abuse, and childhood disorders. Diagnostic sensitivity and specificity remain modest in most studies as may be expected for the relationship of indicators of underlying dimensions of brain organization and function when compared by interview-obtained symptom assessment. The power of electrophysiology to mirror pharmacological effects and treatment susceptability is an important resarch direction for electrophysiology.