339 - **Do not publish** Transforming PTSD modelling to improve diagnostics, treatment, and outcomes

Currently, the diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is based on clusters of symptoms that negatively impact quality of life. Many of the symptoms vary widely in presence, severity and frequency, and overlap with a wide range of other psychiatric comorbid conditions. Treatment interventions range from multiple forms of psychotherapy to psychopharmacology to combinations of both. Such interventions also vary widely, in their relevance and efficacy, with some treatments reducing some symptoms for some individuals for limited or extended durations. Computational modelling that combines systems neuroscience, theoretical neurobiology, and psychiatry, known as computational psychiatry, has begun to make significant advances in understanding PTSD systematically. The rapidly growing field of computational psychiatry has potential to provide promising explanations of the causal pathways that lead to PTSD, how its symptoms arise mechanistically, and in turn, how treatments can more precisely target the relevant mechanisms. By combining computational psychiatry models with clinical research, this project aims to transform our understanding of PTSD, and crucially, to use this understanding to improve PTSD diagnostics, treatment, and outcomes.