Translational opportunities for circuit-based social neuroscience: advancing 21st century psychiatry

[Display omitted] •Advancements in psychiatric treatments have largely stalled since the 1960s.•Manipulating neuronal circuits yields remarkable control over animal behaviors.•Human research demonstrates the translational potential of targeting circuits.•Circuit-level targeting of the oxytocin system is promising for social disorders.•A circuit approach immediately suggests multiple, novel ways to advance psychiatry. The recent advancements of social behavioral neuroscience are unprecedented. Through manipulations targeting neural circuits, complex behaviors can be switched on and off, social bonds can be induced, and false memories can be ‘incepted.’ Psychiatry, however, remains tethered to concepts and techniques developed over half a century ago, including purely behavioral definitions of psychopathology and chronic, brain-wide pharmacological interventions. Drawing on recent animal and human research, we outline a circuit-level approach to the social brain and highlight studies demonstrating the translational potential of this approach. We conclude by suggesting ways both clinical practice and translational research can apply circuit-level neuroscientific knowledge to advance psychiatry, including adopting neuroscience-based nomenclature, stratifying patients into diagnostic subgroups based on neurobiological phenotypes, and pharmacologically enhancing psychotherapy.