Applications of Neuroimaging in Behavioral Medicine.

Behavioral medicine seeks to improve the understanding of health and disease by considering not only the biology and functions of the body, but also their interaction with mind, behavior, and the environment. Medical imaging of the brain is used clinically for diagnosis of neurological and neuropsychiatric conditions and for parallel research into these disorders. However the broader research application of neuroimaging is revolutionary in providing a means of investigating the physical/physiological basis of human thoughts, feelings, and behavior. Behavioral medicine, informed by evidence-based practice, incorporates findings gained from neuroimaging research to better characterize clinical populations and inform treatment strategies, education, and psychosocial interventions. Neuroimaging methods enhance understanding of psychological, social and interpersonal factors, genetic influences and disease. In this chapter we highlight these levels of application with examples from across the neuroimaging literature. We then consider in detail an application which exemplifies neuroimaging contributions to investigating body–brain interactions; neuroimaging research into cardiovascular stress reactivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]