Editorial: The development of biomarkers in psychiatry

Myint and Halaris discussed the kynurenine pathway as a potential biomarker of psychiatric disorders. They also introduced esketamine and its possible therapeutic roles since esketamine is the only currently available medication that is directly linked to the role of the kynurenine pathway in psychiatric disorders.Many of these studies investigated differences in biological characteristics between patients and healthy subjects or treatment-resistant and non-resistant groups; furthermore, some studies used machine learning to predict the prognosis or diagnosis. Combining biological evidence and machine learning makes it possible to predict the disorder or treatment response of a person 1 . Although we have not addressed in this research topic, the development of machine learning and artificial intelligence has enabled us to increase the predictive value of biomarkers 2 . Moreover, biomarkers can be used to predict treatment effects, which leads to tailor-made medicine according to individual characteristics 3 , such as neurofeedback 4 . New molecular biomarkers, such as cell-free nucleic acids and extracellular vesicles, are actively investigated 5,6 . Expanding research on the development of biomarkers will contribute to a better diagnosis and a deeper understanding of psychiatric disorders.