ABSTRACT
Hundreds, if not thousands, of factors have been documented as etiological candidates underlying illness, disease, and treatment. We propose a parsimonious theoretical guide to scientific progress, clinical practice, and improved population health by embracing the interactive, contextual, and dynamic assumptions of systems science, but narrowing its scope through network science’s focus on connections as the unifying mechanism of action. Using alcohol dependence as an illustrative case, we introduce the Social Symbiome and consider unique issues in team formation, study design, and analytic tools for rigorous, feasible studies with adequate human protections.
