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Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2011. the level of DNA, but social and psychological factors are equally important in acquirement of the infection and management of the disorder. “Intelligible” can include both medical explanation and lived experience, which seems to be a richer and more plausible view of the individual. In essence, the distinction between purely functional and purely organic does not exist, but is instead a false dichotomy that pervades the authors’ argument. All of our thoughts, feelings, and behaviours should be understood in terms of biological, psychological, and social causation. We therefore argue that medical approaches and appropriate diagnoses are a necessary, but not sufficient, component of a partnership for better mental health. Joseph Hayes, Vaughan Bell Division of Psychiatry, University College London, Charles Bell House, London, W1W 7EJ joseph.hayes@ucl.ac.uk JH has received grants from the Medical Research Council. VB declares no competing interests. New treatment targets for autism spectrum disorders: EU-AIMS Autism spectrum disorders are one of the most common and severe neurodevelopmental disorders, but no effective treatments for core symptoms are available. 1 The main reasons for the absence of effective treatments are the high clinical and genetic heterogeneity between affected individuals, restricted knowledge of the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms, and the lack of reliable diagnostic biomarkers. Hence clinical trials, which have largely been unsuccessful so far, rely on biologically diverse groups of patients, operationally defined according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th revision. The identification of more homogenous biological subgroups is therefore essential for the development of novel treatments based on the molecular mechanisms underpinning autism spectrum disorders. Recent advances in genomics and new methods to model pathophysiological mechanisms in vitro and in vivo might now make identification of new treatment targets and the stratification of patients according to biological biomarkers possible. Hence, in 2012, the Innovative Medicines Agency set up a large-scale public–private partnership—EU-AIMS—to harness these advances in an integrated translational research programme aiming to identify new biomarkers and treatment targets for autism spectrum disorders. EU-AIMS brings together 14 academic partners, seven members of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations, three small-to-medium enterprises, and patient organisations. 1 The consortium has five interlinked themes (figure). Our programmes on cellular assays and animal models capitalise on the discovery of rare monogenic forms of autism spectrum disorders to identify pathophysiological mechanisms. Because many of these risk genes seem to converge on common molecular pathways, 2 this approach promises to identify treatment targets for larger groups of patients. We mainly (but not exclusively) focus on genes involved in synaptic development and function, and their effect on excitatory–inhibitory imbalance and brain connectivity. 3 A translational research programme links this work to human beings by using electrophysiological, neuroimaging, and molecular imaging methods. For more on EU-AIMS see www.eu-aims.eu