Integrating NIMH Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) into depression research

• Within RDoC, forms of psychopathology are viewed as neurodevelopmental disorders.
• RDoC domains and constructs are defined across multiple units of analysis.
• Development and environment are additional dimensions within a broader 4-D matrix.
• Research must explicitly seek to integrate findings across multiple units of analysis.
• Research on rumination is highlighted as a model program of RDoC research.

The NIMH Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) initiative grew out of the agency's goal to develop ‘new ways of classifying mental disorders based on behavioral dimensions and neurobiological measures’ [1]. In this article, we review how depression research can be meaningfully conducted within an RDoC framework, with a particular focus on the Negative Valence Systems construct of Loss. New efforts to understand depression within the context of RDoC must seek an integrative understanding of the disorder across multiple units of analysis from genes to neural circuits to behavior. In addition, the constructs or processes must be understood within the context of specific environmental and developmental influences. Key concepts are discussed, and we end by highlighting research on rumination as a prime example of research that is consistent with RDoC.