Introduction

Over the past several decades, intensive effort has been devoted to the neurobiological investigation of mood disorders, with the goal of improving the prevention and management of these conditions through biologically based interventions. This work has been revolutionized by the advance of neuroimaging methods that allow highly detailed study of the structure and function of the brain in normal and pathological states. The six chapters in this section provide a comprehensive review of the field, highlighting how this larger body of work has contributed to, and largely defined, how we conceptualize the structural and functional neuroanatomy of mood disorders.

In this chapter, we will summarize and synthesize these various findings in an attempt to highlight what has been learned and where future research might be directed. First, the clear variance between study findings will be addressed. This variability is at times striking and potentially argues for a rather skeptical view of the field. However, there are also many reasons for optimism going forward, despite this variability (and possibly because of it). At the very least, it appears that a highly consistent network of brain regions involved in mood regulation is emerging, even if the varied interactions among these regions remain poorly understood. Utilizing this neural network framework – along with continued developments in neuroimaging methods and data analysis – provides a convenient starting point for future mood disorders imaging research.