Simulation of Mental Disorders: II. Computer Models, Purposes and Future Directions

The complexity of the human brain and the difficulties in identifying and dissecting the biological, social and contextual underpinnings of mental functions confound the study of the etiology and pathophysiology of mental disorders. Simulating mental disorders in animal models or in computer programs may contribute to the understanding of such disorders. In the companion paper (30), we discussed selected concepts and pragmatics pertaining to mental illness simulation in general, and then focused on issues pertaining to animal models of mental disease. In this paper, we focus on selected aspects of the merits and limitations of the use of large scale computer simulation in investigating mental disorders. We argue that at the current state of knowledge, the biological-phenomenological gap in understanding mental disorders markedly limits the ability to generate high-fidelity computational models of mental illness. We conclude that similarly to the animal model approach, brain simulation focusing on limited realistic objectives, such as mimicking the emergence of selected distinct attributes of specific mental symptoms in a virtual brain or parts thereof, may serve as a useful tool in exploring mental disorders.