Determination of neuropsychiatric therapy mechanisms of action

• US 9,198,612 B2
• Filed: 07/08/2008
• Issued: 12/01/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/08/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Fueyo, Joanna Lynn, Angell, Robert Lee, Friedlander, Robert R., Kraemer, James R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Brutus, Joel F
• Application Number:
  US12/169,350
• Publication Number:
  US 20100010363A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,702 Days
• Field of Search: 600/407, 600/410, 382/128
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/055 involving electronic [EMR] or nuclear [NMR] magnetic resonance, e.g. magnetic resonance imaging
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/411 Detecting or monitoring allergy or intolerance reactions to an allergenic agent or substance
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/417 the bone marrow
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/037 Emission tomography
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/501 for diagnosis of the head, e.g. neuroimaging or craniography
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/56 Details of data transmission or power supply, e.g. use of slip rings
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/563 involving image data transmission via a network
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/566 involving communication between diagnostic systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/93 Document management systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 18/22 Matching criteria, e.g. proximity measures
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10088 Magnetic resonance imaging [MRI]
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10104 Positron emission tomography [PET]
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30016 Brain
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/0012 Biomedical image inspection
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/70 relating to mental therapies, e.g. psychological therapy or autogenous training
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 30/20 for handling medical images, e.g. DICOM, HL7 or PACS
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/20 for computer-aided diagnosis, e.g. based on medical expert systems
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/70 for mining of medical data, e.g. analysing previous cases of other patients
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 70/60 relating to pathologies

Abstract

A computer implemented method, apparatus, and computer program product of determining mechanisms of action for therapies. A first set of brain scans for each subject in a plurality of subjects generated at a first time period and a second set of brain scans for each subject generated at a second time period are received. Each subject is diagnosed with a given condition and received a given therapy. A set of changes in the set of brain scans is identified for the each subject based on a comparison of a first set of regions of interest in the first set of scans for each subject with a second set of regions of interest in the second set of scans for each subject. A set of typical changes attributable to the given therapy is identified. A mechanism of action for the given therapy is generated based on the set of typical changes.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method of assessing neuroimaging and medical data to determine mechanisms of action for neuropsychiatric therapies, the computer implemented method comprising:

receiving, at a processor from a first non-transitory computer readable storage medium via a network connection, neuroimaging data of a first set of human brain scans for each human subject in a plurality of human subjects diagnosed with a given neuropsychiatric condition generated at a first time period prior to beginning implementation of a neuropsychiatric therapy to treat the given neuropsychiatric condition and a second set of human brain scans for the each human subject in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition generated at a second time period of a given amount of time after beginning the implementation of the neuropsychiatric therapy to treat the given neuropsychiatric condition, wherein a set of one or more scanning devices generate the neuroimaging data of the first set of human brain scans and the second set of human brain scans, and wherein the neuropsychiatric therapy is received by the each human subject in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition;

automatically searching, using the processor, via the network connection a set of online electronic medical literature sources stored in a second non-transitory computer readable storage medium for portions of medical literature describing the neuropsychiatric therapy used to treat the given neuropsychiatric condition, wherein the set of online electronic medical literature sources comprises at least one of published journal articles, medical study results, medical texts, or pharmaceutical studies;

automatically identifying, using the processor, a first set of regions of interest in the first set of human brain scans for the each human subject in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition generated at the first time period prior to beginning the implementation of the neuropsychiatric therapy to treat the given neuropsychiatric condition and a second set of regions of interest in the second set of human brain scans for the each human subject in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition generated at the second time period of the given amount of time after beginning the implementation of the neuropsychiatric therapy to treat the given neuropsychiatric condition;

identifying, using the processor, a set of changes in the neuroimaging data of the first set of human brain scans and the second set of human brain scans for the each human subject in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition based on a comparison of the first set of regions of interest for the each human subject with the second set of regions of interest for the each human subject, wherein the set of changes comprises indicators of change occurring after the each human subject began receiving the neuropsychiatric therapy to treat the given neuropsychiatric condition;

analyzing, using the processor, the set of changes for the each human subject with the portions of the medical literature describing the neuropsychiatric therapy used to treat the given neuropsychiatric condition to identify a set of changes attributable to the neuropsychiatric therapy;

identifying, using the processor, other therapies unrelated to treatment of the given neuropsychiatric condition being applied to one or more human subjects in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition;

identifying, using the processor, changes in the neuroimaging data of the first set of human brain scans and the second set of human brain scans for the one or more human subjects in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition that are attributable to the other therapies unrelated to the treatment of the given neuropsychiatric condition being applied to the one or more human subjects to form uncorrelated changes attributable to the other therapies unrelated to the treatment of the given neuropsychiatric condition;

eliminating, using the processor, the uncorrelated changes attributable to the other therapies unrelated to the treatment of the given neuropsychiatric condition from the set of changes identified in the first set of human brain scans and the second set of human brain scans for the each human subject in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition;

generating, using the processor, a mechanism of action for the neuropsychiatric therapy for the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition based on the analyzing of the set of changes for the each human subject, wherein the mechanism of action comprises a set of links to the portions of the medical literature associated with the neuropsychiatric therapy and each change in the set of changes identified from an automatic searching of the set of online electronic medical literature sources;

generating, using the processor, the set of links to the portions of the medical literature associated with the neuropsychiatric therapy used to treat the given neuropsychiatric condition;

embedding, using the processor, the set of links to the portions of the medical literature associated with the neuropsychiatric therapy used to treat the given neuropsychiatric condition within the first set of regions of interest located in the first set of human brain scans for the each human subject in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition and the second set of regions of interest located in the second set of human brain scans for the each human subject in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition; and

storing the mechanism of action for the neuropsychiatric therapy in a third non-transitory computer readable storage medium via the network connection.

2. The computer implemented method of claim 1 further comprising:

analyzing additional subject data for the each human subject in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition with the set of changes identified in the first set of human brain scans and the second set of human brain scans for the each human subject and the portions of the medical literature associated with the neuropsychiatric therapy to generate the mechanism of action for the neuropsychiatric therapy, wherein the mechanism of action comprises the set of changes identified in the first set of human brain scans and the second set of human brain scans of the plurality of human subjects and changes in clinical test results occurring over time, and wherein the additional subject data comprises at least one of clinical data, subject medical history, behavioral data, and cognitive data.

3. The computer implemented method of claim 1 further comprising:

searching the set of online electronic medical literature sources for medical literature relevant to the given neuropsychiatric condition, the neuropsychiatric therapy, and the set of changes identified in the first set of human brain scans and the second set of human brain scans for the each human subject in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition occurring over time to form the portions of the medical literature; and

analyzing the portions of the medical literature with the set of changes identified in the first set of human brain scans and the second set of human brain scans for the each human subject in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition occurring over time to derive the mechanism of action for the neuropsychiatric therapy.

4. The computer implemented method of claim 1 wherein the plurality of human subjects comprises human subjects from various demographic groups, and wherein the each human subject in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition receives the neuropsychiatric therapy after the first set of human brain scans were taken at the first time and before the second set of human brain scans were taken at the second time.

5. The computer implemented method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving a set of human brain scans for a set of healthy human subjects in various demographic groups to form baseline normal human brain scans;

analyzing the baseline normal human brain scans to identify a normal appearance of areas in normal human brain scans, wherein a normal human brain scan is a scan that does not show indications of disease or abnormalities in the areas in the normal human brain scans; and

comparing the set of changes identified in the first set of human brain scans and the second set of human brain scans for the each human subject in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition with the baseline normal human brain scans to identify the mechanism of action for the neuropsychiatric therapy.

6. The computer implemented method of claim 1 wherein the first set of human brain scans and the second set of human brain scans both comprise a combination of one or more positron emission tomography scans and one or more magnetic resonance imaging scans of a human subject in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition.

7. The computer implemented method of claim 1 further comprising:

identifying other medical conditions associated with one or more human subjects in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition;

identifying changes in the first set of human brain scans and the second set of human brain scans for the one or more human subjects that are attributable to the other medical conditions associated with the one or more human subjects to form uncorrelated changes attributable to the other medical conditions associated with the one or more human subjects; and

removing the uncorrelated changes attributable to the other medical conditions associated with the one or more human subjects from the set of changes identified in the first set of human brain scans and the second set of human brain scans for the each human subject in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition.

8. The computer implemented method of claim 1 wherein the neuropsychiatric therapy used to treat the given neuropsychiatric condition is a pharmacotherapy, and wherein the mechanism of action for the neuropsychiatric therapy is a drug mechanism of action.

9. The computer implemented method of claim 1 wherein the neuropsychiatric therapy used to treat the given neuropsychiatric condition is selected from a group consisting of a mechanical therapy and a talk therapy.

10. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having computer usable program code for assessing neuroimaging and medical data to determine mechanisms of action for neuropsychiatric therapies embodied therewith that is executable by a computer, the computer usable program code comprising:

computer usable program code configured to receive via a network connection neuroimaging data of a first set of human brain scans for each human subject in a plurality of human subjects diagnosed with a given neuropsychiatric condition generated at a first time period prior to beginning implementation of a neuropsychiatric therapy to treat the given neuropsychiatric condition and a second set of human brain scans for the each human subject in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition generated at a second time period of a given amount of time after beginning the implementation of the neuropsychiatric therapy to treat the given neuropsychiatric condition, wherein a set of one or more scanning devices generate the neuroimaging data of the first set of human brain scans and the second set of human brain scans, and wherein the neuropsychiatric therapy is received by the each human subject in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition;

computer usable program code configured to automatically search via the network connection a set of online electronic medical literature sources stored in a second non-transitory computer readable storage medium for portions of medical literature describing the neuropsychiatric therapy used to treat the given neuropsychiatric condition, wherein the set of online electronic medical literature sources comprises at least one of published journal articles, medical study results, medical texts, or pharmaceutical studies;

computer usable program code configured to automatically select a first set of regions of interest in the first set of human brain scans for the each human subject in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition generated at the first time period prior to beginning the implementation of the neuropsychiatric therapy to treat the given neuropsychiatric condition and a second set of regions of interest in the second set of human brain scans for the each human subject in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition generated at the second time period of the given amount of time after beginning the implementation of the neuropsychiatric therapy to treat the given neuropsychiatric condition;

computer usable program code configured to identify a set of changes in the neuroimaging data of the first set of human brain scans and the second set of human brain scans for the each human subject in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition based on a comparison of the first set of regions of interest for the each human subject with the second set of regions of interest for the each human subject, wherein the set of changes comprises indicators of change occurring after the each human subject began receiving the neuropsychiatric therapy to treat the given neuropsychiatric condition;

computer usable program code configured to analyze the set of changes for the each human subject with the portions of the medical literature describing the neuropsychiatric therapy used to treat the given neuropsychiatric condition to identify a set of changes attributable to the neuropsychiatric therapy;

computer usable program code configured to identify other therapies unrelated to treatment of the given neuropsychiatric condition being applied to one or more human subjects in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition;

computer usable program code configured to identify changes in the neuroimaging data of the first set of human brain scans and the second set of human brain scans for the one or more human subjects in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition that are attributable to the other therapies unrelated to the treatment of the given neuropsychiatric condition being applied to the one or more human subjects to form uncorrelated changes attributable to the other therapies unrelated to the treatment of the given neuropsychiatric condition;

computer usable program code configured to eliminate the uncorrelated changes attributable to the other therapies unrelated to the treatment of the given neuropsychiatric condition from the set of changes identified in the first set of human brain scans and the second set of human brain scans for the each human subject in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition;

computer usable program code configured to generate a mechanism of action for the neuropsychiatric therapy for the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition based on the analyzing of the set of changes for the each human subject, wherein the mechanism of action comprises a set of links to the portions of the medical literature associated with the neuropsychiatric therapy and each change in the set of changes identified from an automatic searching of the set of online electronic medical literature sources;

computer usable program code configured to generate the set of links to the portions of the medical literature associated with the neuropsychiatric therapy used to treat the given neuropsychiatric condition; and

computer usable program code configured to embed the set of links to the portions of the medical literature associated with the neuropsychiatric therapy used to treat the given neuropsychiatric condition within the first set of regions of interest located in the first set of human brain scans for the each human subject in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition and the second set of regions of interest located in the second set of human brain scans for the each human subject in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition.

11. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 10 wherein the computer usable program code further comprises:

computer usable program code configured to analyze additional subject data for the each human subject in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition with the set of changes identified in the first set of human brain scans and the second set of human brain scans for the each human subject and the portions of the medical literature associated with the neuropsychiatric therapy to generate the mechanism of action for the neuropsychiatric therapy, wherein the mechanism of action comprises the set of changes identified in the first set of human brain scans and the second set of human brain scans of the plurality of human subjects and changes in clinical test results occurring over time, and wherein the additional subject data comprises at least one of clinical data, subject medical history, behavioral data, and cognitive data.

12. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 10 wherein the computer usable program code further comprises:

computer usable program code configured to search the set of online electronic medical literature sources for medical literature relevant to the given neuropsychiatric condition, the neuropsychiatric therapy, and the set of changes identified in the first set of human brain scans and the second set of human brain scans for the each human subject in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition occurring over time to form the portions of the medical literature; and

computer usable program code configured to analyze the portions of the medical literature with the set of changes identified in the first set of human brain scans and the second set of human brain scans for the each human subject in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition occurring over time to derive the mechanism of action for the neuropsychiatric therapy.

13. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 10 wherein the plurality of human subjects comprises human subjects from various demographic groups, and wherein the each human subject in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition receives the neuropsychiatric therapy after the first set of human brain scans were taken at the first time and before the second set of human brain scans were taken at the second time.

14. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 10 wherein the computer usable program code further comprises:

computer usable program code configured to receive a set of human brain scans for a set of healthy human subjects in various demographic groups to form baseline normal human brain scans;

computer usable program code configured to analyze the baseline normal human brain scans to identify a normal appearance of areas in normal human brain scans, wherein a normal human brain scan is a scan that does not show indications of disease or abnormalities in the areas in the normal human brain scans; and

computer usable program code configured to compare the set of changes identified in the first set of human brain scans and the second set of human brain scans for the each human subject in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition with the baseline normal human brain scans to identify the mechanism of action for the neuropsychiatric therapy.

15. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 10 wherein the computer usable program code further comprises:

computer usable program code configured to identify other medical conditions associated with one or more human subjects in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition;

computer usable program code configured to identify changes in the first set of human brain scans and the second set of human brain scans for the one or more human subjects that are attributable to the other medical conditions associated with the one or more human subjects to form uncorrelated changes attributable to the other medical conditions associated with the one or more human subjects; and

computer usable program code configured to remove the uncorrelated changes attributable to the other medical conditions associated with the one or more human subjects from the set of changes identified in the first set of human brain scans and the second set of human brain scans for the each human subject in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition.

16. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 10 wherein the neuropsychiatric therapy used to treat the given neuropsychiatric condition is selected from a group consisting of a pharmacotherapy, a mechanical therapy, and a talk therapy.

17. An apparatus for assessing neuroimaging and medical data to determine mechanisms of action for neuropsychiatric therapies comprising:

a bus system;

a communications system coupled to the bus system;

a non-transitory computer readable storage medium connected to the bus system, wherein the non-transitory computer readable storage medium stores computer usable program code; and

a processor chip coupled to the bus system, wherein the processor chip executes the computer usable program code to;

receive via a network connection neuroimaging data of a first set of human brain scans for each human subject in a plurality of human subjects diagnosed with a given neuropsychiatric condition generated at a first time period prior to beginning implementation of a neuropsychiatric therapy to treat the given neuropsychiatric condition and a second set of human brain scans for the each human subject in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition generated at a second time period of a given amount of time after beginning the implementation of the neuropsychiatric therapy to treat the given neuropsychiatric condition, wherein a set of one or more scanning devices generate the neuroimaging data of the first set of human brain scans and the second set of human brain scans, and wherein the neuropsychiatric therapy is received by the each human subject in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition;

automatically search via the network connection a set of online electronic medical literature sources stored in a second non-transitory computer readable storage medium for portions of medical literature describing the neuropsychiatric therapy used to treat the given neuropsychiatric condition, wherein the set of online electronic medical literature sources comprises at least one of published journal articles, medical study results, medical texts, or pharmaceutical studies;

analyze the first set of brain scans and the second set of brain scans to identify a first set of regions of interest in the first set of human brain scans for the each human subject in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition generated at the first time period prior to beginning the implementation of the neuropsychiatric therapy to treat the given neuropsychiatric condition and a second set of regions of interest in the second set of human brain scans for the each human subject in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition generated at the second time period of the given amount of time after beginning the implementation of the neuropsychiatric therapy to treat the given neuropsychiatric condition;

identify a set of changes in the neuroimaging data of the first set of human brain scans and the second set of human brain scans for the each human subject in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition based on a comparison of the first set of regions of interest for the each human subject with the second set of regions of interest for the each human subject, wherein the set of changes comprises indicators of change occurring after the each human subject began receiving the neuropsychiatric therapy to treat the given neuropsychiatric condition;

analyze the set of changes for the each human subject with the portions of the medical literature describing the neuropsychiatric therapy used to treat the given neuropsychiatric condition to identify a set of changes attributable to the neuropsychiatric therapy;

identify other therapies unrelated to treatment of the given neuropsychiatric condition being applied to one or more human subjects in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition;

identify changes in the neuroimaging data of the first set of human brain scans and the second set of human brain scans for the one or more human subjects in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition that are attributable to the other therapies unrelated to the treatment of the given neuropsychiatric condition being applied to the one or more human subjects to form uncorrelated changes attributable to the other therapies unrelated to the treatment of the given neuropsychiatric condition;

eliminate the uncorrelated changes attributable to the other therapies unrelated to the treatment of the given neuropsychiatric condition from the set of changes identified in the first set of human brain scans and the second set of human brain scans for the each human subject in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition;

generate a mechanism of action for the neuropsychiatric therapy for the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition based on the analyzing of the set of changes for the each human subject, wherein the mechanism of action comprises a set of links to the portions of the medical literature associated with the neuropsychiatric therapy and each change in the set of changes identified from an automatic searching of the set of online electronic medical literature sources;

generate the set of links to the portions of the medical literature associated with the neuropsychiatric therapy used to treat the given neuropsychiatric condition; and

embed the set of links to the portions of the medical literature associated with the neuropsychiatric therapy used to treat the given neuropsychiatric condition within the first set of regions of interest located in the first set of human brain scans for the each human subject in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition and the second set of regions of interest located in the second set of human brain scans for the each human subject in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition.

18. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein the processor chip further executes the computer usable program code to analyze additional subject data for the each human subject in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition with the set of changes identified in the first set of human brain scans and the second set of human brain scans for the each human subject and the portions of the medical literature associated with the neuropsychiatric therapy to generate the mechanism of action for the neuropsychiatric therapy, wherein the mechanism of action comprises the set of changes identified in the first set of human brain scans and the second set of human brain scans of the plurality of human subjects and changes in clinical test results occurring over time, and wherein the additional subject data comprises at least one of clinical data, subject medical history, behavioral data, and cognitive data.

19. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein the processor chip further executes the computer usable program code to identify other medical conditions associated with one or more human subjects in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition;

identify changes in the first set of human brain scans and the second set of human brain scans for the one or more human subjects that are attributable to the other medical conditions associated with the one or more human subjects to form uncorrelated changes attributable to the other medical conditions associated with the one or more human subjects; and

remove the uncorrelated changes attributable to the other medical conditions associated with the one or more human subjects from the set of changes identified in the first set of human brain scans and the second set of human brain scans for the each human subject in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition.

20. A data processing system for assessing neuroimaging and medical data to determine mechanisms of action for neuropsychiatric therapies comprising:

a set of online electronic medical literature sources, wherein the set of online medical literature sources comprises medical literature;

a neuroimage mapping manager, wherein the neuroimage mapping manager automatically retrieves via a network connection portions of the medical literature that describe a neuropsychiatric therapy from the set of online electronic medical literature sources, wherein the set of online electronic medical literature sources comprises at least one of published journal articles, medical study results, medical texts, or pharmaceutical studies;

analyzes neuroimaging data corresponding to a plurality of human brain scans for a plurality of human subjects diagnosed with a given neuropsychiatric condition who receive the neuropsychiatric therapy to identify a first set of regions of interest in a first set of human brain scans for each human subject in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition and a second set of regions of interest in a second set of human brain scans for each human subject in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition and identifies a set of changes in the neuroimaging data of the first set of human brain scans and the second set of human brain scans for each human subject in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition based on a comparison of the first set of regions of interest for each human subject with the second set of regions of interest for each human subject, wherein the first set of brain scans for each human subject in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition is generated at a first time period prior to beginning implementation of the neuropsychiatric therapy to treat the given neuropsychiatric condition and the second set of human brain scans for each human subject in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition is generated at a second time period of a given amount of time after beginning the implementation of the neuropsychiatric therapy to treat the given neuropsychiatric condition, and wherein a set of one or more scanning devices generate the neuroimaging data of the first set of human brain scans and the second set of human brain scans, and wherein the neuropsychiatric therapy is administered to each human subject in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition, and wherein the set of changes identified in the first set of human brain scans and the second set of human brain scans for each human subject in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition is changes that occur after each human subject began to receive the neuropsychiatric therapy; and

a therapy mechanism generator, wherein the therapy mechanism generator analyzes the set of changes for each human subject with the portions of the medical literature that describe the neuropsychiatric therapy used to treat the given neuropsychiatric condition to identify a set of changes attributable to the neuropsychiatric therapy;

identifies other therapies unrelated to treatment of the given neuropsychiatric condition being applied to one or more human subjects in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition;

identifies changes in the neuroimaging data of the first set of human brain scans and the second set of human brain scans for the one or more human subjects in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition that are attributable to the other therapies unrelated to the treatment of the given neuropsychiatric condition being applied to the one or more human subjects to form uncorrelated changes attributable to the other therapies unrelated to the treatment of the given neuropsychiatric condition;

eliminates the uncorrelated changes attributable to the other therapies unrelated to the treatment of the given neuropsychiatric condition from the set of changes identified in the first set of human brain scans and the second set of human brain scans for the each human subject in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition;

generates a mechanism of action for the neuropsychiatric therapy based on the set of changes, wherein the mechanism of action comprises a set of links to the portions of the medical literature associated with the neuropsychiatric therapy and each change in the set of changes identified from an automatic searching of the set of online electronic medical literature sources;

generates the set of links to the portions of the medical literature associated with the neuropsychiatric therapy used to treat the given neuropsychiatric condition; and

embeds the set of links to the portions of the medical literature associated with the neuropsychiatric therapy used to treat the given neuropsychiatric condition within the first set of regions of interest located in the first set of human brain scans for the each human subject in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition and the second set of regions of interest located in the second set of human brain scans for the each human subject in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition.

21. The data processing system of claim 20 further comprising:

a data storage device, wherein the data storage device stores additional subject data for each human subject in the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition, and wherein the therapy mechanism generator analyzes the additional subject data for each human subject with the set of changes and portions of the medical literature associated with the neuropsychiatric therapy to generate the mechanism of action for the neuropsychiatric therapy, and wherein the mechanism of action for the neuropsychiatric therapy comprises the set of changes identified in the first set of human brain scans and the second set of human brain scans of the plurality of human subjects diagnosed with the given neuropsychiatric condition and changes in clinical test results occurring over time, and wherein the additional subject data comprises at least one of clinical data, subject medical history, behavioral data, and cognitive data.

22. The data processing system of claim 20 wherein the neuropsychiatric therapy used to treat the given neuropsychiatric condition is a pharmacotherapy, and wherein the mechanism of action for the neuropsychiatric therapy is a drug mechanism of action.