Psychology research and NIMH. Opportunities and challenges.

As an essential contributor to the scientific understanding of mental health and illness, psychology continues to be the leading discipline receiving National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) research support. Future behavioral science research initiatives at NIMH are likely to emphasize cognitive science, behavioral genetics, behavioral patterns and physiological systems, and personality, motivation, emotion, and interpersonal processes. Although prognostication is particularly risky in times of transition such as the present, advocacy efforts focused on mental-illness-related research are most likely to help the NIMH and the field if they avoid polarization and factionalization by providing equal encouragement for studies of biological aspects, of behavioral aspects, and of their interaction.