Neuropsychiatry is a growing medical subspecialty that integrates psychiatry and neurology, uniquely viewing the mind as an emergent property of the brain and attributing behavior to the complex interplay of neurobiology and social psychology. It aims to better understand conditions like autism, ADHD, Tourette syndrome, and psychological trauma, and there's a significant academic push for neurology and psychiatry to reunite as a single, comprehensive specialty. Leading figures, such as Professor Joseph B. Martin, former Dean of Harvard Medical School, argue that the traditional separation between brain-focused neurology and mind-focused psychiatry is artificial, asserting that the brain and mind are fundamentally one.

This "mind/brain monism" offers a unified research framework, validating mental disorders as having biological roots in the brain and mitigating widespread confusion about their legitimacy. Furthermore, neuropsychiatry embraces a "causal pluralism," recognizing that disorders stem from a continuum of factors, ranging from genetics and neuropathology ("inside-the-skin") to environment and culture ("outside-the-skin"), leading to a more comprehensive understanding of illnesses like eating disorders and schizophrenia.