Announcements

We are pleased to announce the launch of a new initiative—the MDPI Special Issue Mentor Program.

This program will enable early career researchers (who must hold a Ph.D. in a related field) to experience editing a Special Issue in MDPI journals, under the mentorship of our experienced Editorial Board Members or other experienced scientists. The mentor program will provide an excellent opportunity for early career scientists to gain editorial experience, and to cultivate their ability to edit scientific research.

The mentee’s responsibilities include:

• Proposing a Special Issue title and assisting the mentor in preparing a summary (around 200–400 words) and 3–10 keywords describing the background, importance, and goal of the Issue;
• Writing a brief promotion plan for the Special Issue;
• Preparing a list of scholars who may be interested in the Issue and personally e-mailing invitations on behalf of Guest Editors;
• Writing an editorial for the online Special Issue together with the mentor.

The mentor’s responsibilities include:

• Conducting a final check before the Special Issue is published online;
• Performing editorial control of the Special Issue and quality control of the publications, both of which must be carried out in a timely manner;
• Providing suggestions to younger scholars if they have any doubts or concerns regarding submissions;
• Organizing video calls with young scholars and the Editorial Office regularly to discuss problems and improvement suggestions for the Special Issue;
• Making and submitting decisions regarding submissions with the assistance of mentees.

Certificates and awards:
After the Special Issue closes, the Editorial Office will provide official certificates for all the mentors and early career researchers.

If you are interested in this opportunity, please send your Special Issue proposal to the Editorial Office of a journal you choose, and we will discuss the process (i.e., mentor collaboration, Special Issue topic feasibility analysis, etc.) in further detail. The full list of MDPI journals is as follows: https://www.mdpi.com/about/journals.

In addition to the new Special Issue Mentor Program, we will continue to welcome all Special Issue proposals focusing on hot research topics.

MDPI has just become the first open access (OA) publisher to reach the milestone of one million articles published. That is one million articles freely available to all, to circulate and build upon! We are proud to share this special moment with the global scientific community.

This landmark has been reached thanks to the immeasurable support of more than 600,000 expert reviewers, 66,000 editorial board members and 6700 hard-working colleagues across MDPI’s global offices.

Within more than 25 years of publishing, our journals received 2.1 million manuscripts and generated 4.6 million peer review reports to get to one million papers published.

Reaching the milestone of one million articles published reinforces our mission to remove any existing barriers and to make scientific research accessible to all. Since its inception, MDPI’s goal has been to create reliable processes to make science open. This is a path towards facilitating the dissemination of novel insights in scientific communities.

Regular feedback from authors and reviewers shows that our service is greatly appreciated and needed. At the same time, the feedback helps us identify areas for further improvement.

As it stands, a significant share of published research findings remain closed access. More than half of the content published with the most well-known legacy publishers stays behind a paywall, and that is not including articles published in hybrid OA journals, or made available months or years after publication.

A new policy announced by the US administration in August 2022 requires that, as of January 2026, all US federally funded research be made freely and immediately available after publication. While the new policy does not mandate articles be published under an open access license, it is aligned with the open access movement in removing all barriers to research. Similarly, some of the most advanced research institutions in the world intend to have all funded research articles published in open access by 2025.

MDPI is proud to be the leading agent of the transition to open access.

"Thanks a Million" to all the contributors!

Brain Sciences (ISSN: 2076-3425) is recruiting Editors-in-Chief for the following three Sections:

• “Neuroscience of Pain”;
• “Neuro-Oncology”;
• “Neurotology and Neuro-ophthalmology”.

As a Section Editor-in-Chief, you would have the following responsibilities:

• Making decisions on whether a manuscript can be accepted or not based on the reports that we collect;
• Checking and approving potential Special Issues in the Section, suggesting special topics or editing a Special Issue on a topic related to your research interests when it is convenient for you;
• Recommending Section Board Members to join and contribute to editorial work;
• Promoting the journal and increasing its visibility at related academic conferences;
• Advising on journal development.

If you are interested in becoming a Section Editor-in-Chief for one of the three Sections of Brain Sciences, please send us your full academic CV and a short cover letter detailing your interest in and suitability for the position. If you would like to recommend potential candidates or request further information, please contact the Brain Sciences Editorial Office at brainsci@mdpi.com. We look forward to working with you in the future.

We are pleased to announce that the website of the MDPI Sustainability Foundation has been revamped! For the past couple of months, our UX UI team and front-end developers have been working hard to launch the website in time for the opening of the Sustainability Awards nominations.

The website is not the only thing that has had a remodeling. Indeed, the format of the Emerging Sustainability Leader Award (ESLA) has been updated. ESLA is now a competition open to individual researchers or start-ups founded by researchers under the age of 35. Nominee applications will go through 2 rounds of selection until the final 3 are decided. The finalists will then be invited to give pitch presentations during the Award Ceremony to win either first place (10,000 USD) or runner-up (2 x 5000 USD).

The World Sustainability Award, on the other hand, remains the same: a total prize money of 100,000 USD is up for grabs by senior individual researchers or groups of researchers from the international research community.

Nominations for both the World Sustainability Award and the Emerging Sustainability Leader award are now open! Check out our new website for more information on how to nominate.

We are pleased to announce that Prof. Dr. Yang Zhang has been appointed Section Editor-in-Chief of the “Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience” Section in Brain Sciences (ISSN: 2076-3425).

Name: Prof. Dr. Yang Zhang
Email: zhanglab@umn.edu
Affiliation: Department of Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences & Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
Homepage: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Yang-Zhang-57
Research keywords: auditory neuroscience; social neuroscience; speech and voice perception; music perception; neurolinguistics; computational modeling; hearing loss; autism spectrum disorder; schizophrenia

Prof. Dr. Yang Zhang is a full professor of the Department of Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences and Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. He obtained his Ph.D. in speech and hearing sciences from the University of Washington, Seattle (advisor: Dr. Patricia K. Kuhl) and received training in electrophysiology and brain imaging research, including magnetoencephalography, at the Basic Research Laboratories of Nippon Telephone and Telegraph Corporation and Tokyo Denki University in Japan (team leader: Dr. Toshiaki Imada). He was awarded the Early Career Researcher Prize in 2010 by the Developmental Science journal and currently leads an international interdisciplinary team to study speech and language with an emphasis on the social, cognitive, and affective foundations that help build up the human mind and shape interpersonal communication.

The following is a short Q&A with Prof. Dr. Yang Zhang, who shared his vision for the journal with us, as well as his views of the research area and Open Access publishing:

1. What appealed to you about the journal that made you want to take the role as its Section Editor-in-Chief?
   Brain Sciences is one of the fastest-growing open access, international journals in neuroscience. It has repeatedly attracted emerging and influential scientists and scholars in related disciplines to publish their high-quality research articles. In my own experience as a contributor, reviewer, and editor, I found the editorial staff to be highly efficient, responsive, respectful, and professional. The peer reviews that I received for my manuscripts were fast, rigorous, and constructive. In return, I have served as a reviewer and handling editor—a position that recognizes the reviewers' and editors' time and effort by providing a discount voucher towards their submissions—for the journal dozens of times. Over the past decade, Brain Sciences has established itself as a high-quality SCI journal that is recognized by the Web of Science and is recommended by the popular free online journal selector website https://jane.biosemantics.org/. In comparison with many other journals that promised the time to first decision to be within a month but often failed to deliver, Brain Sciences has successfully developed a database of reliable peer reviewers and a conscientious editorial staff that take the timeline of the reviewing process very seriously. I am impressed by the journal's rising impact factor over the years and its broad coverage in basic, clinical, and translational neuroscience research, as well as its democratic openness to sharing the editorial responsibility with the scientific community and its diversity/inclusiveness of international authorship and readership. Ultimately, the responsibility for ensuring scientific rigor, accountability, and constructive criticism in the peer-review system comes down to the editors and the volunteer reviewers who care greatly about the substance and quality of the journal. In this regard, I am glad to accept the invitation to play an important role in strengthening and promoting the journal.
2. What is your vision for the Section?
   The "Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience" Section is devoted to basic, clinical, and translational studies on all behavioral, system, neural circuit, single-cell, cellular, and genetic levels, including in animal models. Neuroimaging, pharmacological perturbation, and neuromodulation methods hold great promise to provide a better understanding of basic social, cognitive, and affective processes in terms of how these processes interact and develop in neurotypical individuals and how they may break down to account for the various mental and physical health problems in psychiatric disorders. The Section welcomes original and review submissions that identify biomarkers linking behavioral symptoms with anatomical and functional brain imaging results in conjunction with etiological, epidemiological, and clinical manifestations of psychiatric conditions such as autism, schizophrenia, depression, affective disorders, and Alzheimer's disease.
3. What does the future of this field of research look like?
   As a researcher specializing in neurolinguistics in the field of speech, language, and hearing sciences, I have become increasingly aware of the limitations of the trichotomies of some influential theoretical frameworks that treat language, emotion, and cognition as independent modules without much attention to the social and cultural context of speech communication and human interaction. In the years to come, it will take multidisciplinary efforts to develop theories and models to guide our scientific neurobehavioral endeavors to further understand the connections and mutual influences of the cognitive, affective, and linguistic processes in the larger socio-cultural context of human communication and development.
4. What do you think of the development of Open Access in the publishing field?
   Open Access journals have witnessed increasing success and influence in every academic field. More and more traditional subscription-based journals have started to accept and incorporate the Open Access model. Instead of asking the general public and any potential readers or their affiliated institutions to pay for access, the Open Access model eliminates this barrier to the dissemination of information and scientific discoveries. While challenges still remain in strengthening the administrative, financial, and ethical practices and standards of Open Access publishing, more and more governmental and private funding agencies are now supportive of publishing in Open Access journals. I believe the transitional efforts to open science and Open Access will ultimately prevail and become the dominant force in the publishing field.

We wish Prof. Dr. Yang Zhang every success in his new position, and we look forward to his contributions to the journal.

1. “Congenital Disorders of Glycosylation from a Neurological Perspective”
   by Paprocka, J.; Jezela-Stanek, A.; Tylki-Szymańska, A. and Grunewald, S.
   Brain Sci. 2021, 11(1), 88; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci11010088
   Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/11/1/88
2. “Extremely Low-Frequency Magnetic Field as a Stress Factor—Really Detrimental?—Insight into Literature from the Last Decade”
   by Klimek, A. and Rogalska, J.
   Brain Sci. 2021, 11(2), 174; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci11020174
   Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/11/2/174
3. “Oxidative Dysregulation in Early Life Stress and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Comprehensive Review”
   by Karanikas, E.; Daskalakis, N. P. and Agorastos, A.
   Brain Sci. 2021, 11(6), 723; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci11060723
   Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/11/6/723
4. “Relationship between Cognitive Functions and Sport-Specific Physical Performance in Youth Volleyball Players”
   by Trecroci, A.; Duca, M.; Cavaggioni, L.; Rossi, A.; Scurati, R.; Longo, S.; Merati, G.; Alberti, G. and Formenti, D.
   Brain Sci. 2021, 11(2), 227; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci11020227
   Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/11/2/227
5. “Use of Super Paramagnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles as Drug Carriers in Brain and Ear: State of the Art and Challenges”
   by Guigou, C.; Lalande, A.; Millot, N.; Belharet, K. and Bozorg Grayeli, A.
   Brain Sci. 2021, 11(2), 227; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci11020227
   Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/11/3/358
6. “The Effects of 10 Hz and 20 Hz tACS in Network Integration and Segregation in Chronic Stroke: A Graph Theoretical fMRI Study”
   by Chen, C.; Yuan, K.; Chu, W.C.-w. and Tong, R. K.-y.
   Brain Sci. 2021, 11(3), 377; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci11030377
   Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/11/3/377
7. “Influence of Increasing Task Complexity and Use of Informational Assistance Systems on Mental Workload”
   by Bläsing, D. and Bornewasser, M.
   Brain Sci. 2021, 11(1), 102; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci11010102
   Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/11/1/102
8. “The Mammalian Locus Coeruleus Complex—Consistencies and Variances in Nuclear Organization”
   by Manger, P. R. and Eschenko, O.
   Brain Sci. 2021, 11(11), 1486; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci11111486
   Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/11/11/1486
9. “Modulation of Synaptic Plasticity by Vibratory Training in Young and Old Mice”
   by Cariati, I.; Bonanni, R.; Pallone, G.; Annino, G.; Tancredi, V. and D’Arcangelo, G.
   Brain Sci. 2021, 11(1), 82; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci11010082
   Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/11/1/82
10. “Melatonin: From Neurobiology to Treatment”
    by Biggio, G.; Biggio, F.; Talani, G.; Mostallino, M. C.; Aguglia, A.; Aguglia, E. and Palagini, L.
    Brain Sci. 2021, 11(9), 1121; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci11091121
    Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/11/9/1121

1. “Long-Lasting Cognitive Abnormalities after COVID-19”
   by Ferrucci, R.; Dini, M.; Groppo, E.; Rosci, C.; Reitano, M. R.; Bai, F.; Poletti, B.; Brugnera, A.; Silani, V.; D’Arminio Monforte, A. and Priori, A.
   Brain Sci.2021, 11(2), 235; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci11020235
   Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/11/2/235
2. “Summary of over Fifty Years with Brain-Computer Interfaces—A Review”
   by Kawala-Sterniuk, A.; Browarska, N.; Al-Bakri, A.; Pelc, M.; Zygarlicki, J.; Sidikova, M.; Martinek, R. and Gorzelanczyk, E. J.
   Brain Sci.2021, 11(1), 43; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci11010043
   Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/11/1/43
3. “Post-Acute COVID-19 Symptoms, a Potential Link with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A 6-Month Survey in a Mexican Cohort”
   by González-Hermosillo, J. A.; Martínez-López, J. P.; Carrillo-Lampón, S. A.; Ruiz-Ojeda, D.; Herrera-Ramírez, S.; Amezcua-Guerra, L. M. and Martínez-Alvarado, M. d. R.
   Brain Sci.2021, 11(6), 760; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci11060760
   Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/11/6/760
4. “Systemic Inflammatory Response Index and Futile Recanalization in Patients with Ischemic Stroke Undergoing Endovascular Treatment”
   by Lattanzi, S.; Norata, D.; Divani, A. A.; Di Napoli, M.; Broggi, S.; Rocchi, C.; Ortega-Gutierrez, S.; Mansueto, G. and Silvestrini, M.
   Brain Sci.2021, 11(9), 1164; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci11091164
   Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/11/9/1164
5. “Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte, Platelet-to-Lymphocyte and Monocyte-to-Lymphocyte Ratio in Bipolar Disorder”
   by Fusar-Poli, L.; Natale, A.; Amerio, A.; Cimpoesu, P.; Grimaldi Filioli, P.; Aguglia, E.; Amore, M.; Serafini, G. and Aguglia, A.
   Brain Sci.2021, 11(1), 58; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci11010058
   Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/11/1/58
6. “Comparison of Brain Activation Patterns during Olfactory Stimuli between Recovered COVID-19 Patients and Healthy Controls: A Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) Study”
   by Ho, R. C.; Sharma, V. K.; Tan, B. Y. Q.; Ng, A. Y. Y.; Lui, Y.-S.; Husain, S. F.; Ho, C. S.; Tran, B. X.; Pham, Q.-H.; McIntyre, R. S. and Chan, A. C. Y.
   Brain Sci.2021, 11(8), 968; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci11080968
   Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/11/8/968
7. “Psychological and Emotional Effects of Digital Technology on Children in COVID-19 Pandemic”
   by Limone, P. and Toto, G. A.
   Brain Sci.2021, 11(9), 1126; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci11091126
   Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/11/9/1126
8. “The Use and Impact of Cognitive Enhancers among University Students: A Systematic Review”
   by Sharif, S.; Guirguis, A.; Fergus, S. and Schifano, F.
   Brain Sci.2021, 11(3), 355; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci11030355
   Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/11/3/355
9. “Long-Term Brain Disorders in Post Covid-19 Neurological Syndrome (PCNS) Patient”
   by Nuzzo, D.; Cambula, G.; Bacile, I.; Rizzo, M.; Galia, M.; Mangiapane, P.; Picone, P.; Giacomazza, D. and Scalisi, L.
   Brain Sci.2021, 11(4), 454; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci11040454
   Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/11/4/454
10. “Fecal Transplant and Bifidobacterium Treatments Modulate Gut Clostridium Bacteria and Rescue Social Impairment and Hippocampal BDNF Expression in a Rodent Model of Autism”
    by Abuaish, S.; Al-Otaibi, N. M.; Abujamel, T. S.; Alzahrani, S. A.; Alotaibi, S. M.; AlShawakir, Y. A.; Aabed, K. and El-Ansary, A.
    Brain Sci.2021, 11(8), 1038; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci11081038
    Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/11/8/1038

Peer Review Week began 19 September 2022 under the theme of “Research Integrity: Creating and Supporting Trust in Research”. Through various blog articles, podcast, and webinar, we discussed this crucial subject throughout the week, celebrating the essential role peer review plays in maintaining research quality.

To begin, we held a Webinar on the topic. Professor Peter W. Choate and Dr. Emmanuel Obeng-Gyasi joined Dr. Ioana Craciun, one of MDPI’s scientific officers, for an in-depth discussion.

We invite you to view the event recording:

During the week, the MDPI Blog in a series articles highlighted how good Peer Review safeguards research integrity. The following topics were covered:

• Peer Review Week 2022
• Research Integrity
• What We’ve Learned About Peer Review Reports
• 4 Steps to the Perfect Peer Review Report
• How to Write the Perfect Peer Review Report: An Interview
• Inviting Great Peer Reviewers

In a new edition of Insight Faster, an MDPI podcast, we were delighted to talk to the co-chairs of the Peer Review Week committee, Jayashree Rajagopalan (Senior Manager of Global Community Engagement for CACTUS) and Danielle Padula (Head of Marketing and Community Development at Scholastica) to get their take on this year’s event and its related topics.

You can find the Podcast here.

We hope you enjoy the contents!

We are pleased to announce that Prof. Dr. Gerry Leisman has been appointed Section Editor-in-Chief of the “Educational Neuroscience” Section in Brain Sciences (ISSN: 2076-3425).

Name: Prof. Dr. Gerry Leisman
Email: g.leisman@welfare.haifa.ac.il
Affiliations: 1. Movement and Cognition Laboratory, Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Sciences Haifa University, Haifa, Israel; 2. Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Institute for Neurology and Neurosurgery, University of the Medical Sciences of Havana, Havana, Cuba
Homepage: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9975-7331
Research keywords: developmental neuroscience; computational neuroscience; cognitive neuroscience; fetal cognition; neuroplasticity; consciousness; neuroeducation hunter

Prof. Dr. Gerry Leisman is a full professor and a research fellow at the University of Haifa in Israel and a professor of restorative neurology at the University of Medical Sciences in Havana, Cuba. He studies the relation between movement and cognition development, examining the mechanisms of self-organizing systems in the brain when applied to fetal, neonatal, infant, and childhood development of sensation/perception, memory, cognition, consciousness, death, autism, movement, and gait. He was one of the first to identify functional disconnectivities in the brain. He has been involved in the promotion of consciousness as a scientifically tractable problem since the early 1970s, and has been particularly influential in arguing that a fundamental understanding of consciousness can be approached using the modern tools of neurobiology and mechanisms of theoretical physics. Together with Dr. Paul Koch, he developed the biomedical applications of continuum theory. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine (UK) and was elected Fellow of the Association for Psychological Sciences in 1990, a Senior Member of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society in 1986, and a Life Fellow of the International Association for Functional Neurology & Rehabilitation in 2010, in addition to receiving its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011. He has published hundreds of papers and texts in the fields of neurosciences, developmental sciences, cognitive science, biomedical engineering, and in the systems sciences literature.

The following is a short Q&A with Prof. Dr. Gerry Leisman, who shared his vision for the journal with us, as well as his views of the research area and open access publishing:

1. What appealed to you about the journal that made you want to take the role as its Section Editor-in-Chief?
Brain Sciences is an open access journal that has been publishing high-standard research for about ten years. It is during this period of time that the journal has obtained high visibility through it being indexed in PubMed Scopus, Web of Sciences and other databases. The review processes are swift and effective. For example, in one paper that has been through the review process, the reviewer’s critique was significantly longer than the paper itself. It is for this and other reasons that the journal’s impact factor has steadily risen. Secondly, the diversity of the journal’s coverage is extensive. This is a factor important to me in particular as it is my intention to parlay the knowledge base in cognitive neuroscience, developmental cognitive neuroscience, human factors, experimental psychology, occupational and physical therapy, systems theory, neurology, rehabilitation sciences, industrial engineering, production management and operations research as well as many other not so obvious applications and to translate that knowledge base into practical translations in the education of neurotypical, impaired, aging and elderly learners. There is a saying, “The day is short and the work much.” So, another appeal of the Brain Sciences is its rapid publication coupled with its copious review process.

2. What is your vision for the Section?
It is astounding that the central model for knowledge acquisition within the educational system is, even today, the “talking head” while the student sits. What an embarrassment, given the huge literature in the cognitive neurosciences providing us with many alternatives. For example, we know that movement influences cognition and vice versa. Strong connections exist between movement, physical education, breaks, recess, energizing activities, and improved cognition. Movement can be an efficient cognitive approach to reinforce learning, improve memory and retrieval, and enhance learner motivation and morale.

Perhaps that is the reason that we have not effected change in public policy towards school-aged children, and why people are still required to retire in their sixties when we know that movement, social engagement and cognitive stimulation will reduce health care costs significantly in both the developing and developed world, is because we are busy doing what we have always done. We do not change when the data and evidence require it. There seems to be a disconnection between the world of science and public policy in this arena.

In times of shrinking financial resources, educators, health officials, government policymakers and employers must make difficult choices. In the school system, do dance, theater, recess, and physical education belong in the curriculum? Are they frills or fundamentals? What does brain research tell us about the relationship between the body and cognitive function? If movement and learning are connected, we should expect evidence to support the idea.

I see the Section “Educational Neurosciences” growing its board for inclusion of disciplines and research that directly or even indirectly affect the individual’s capacity to learn, retain, and apply what has been learned. I plan to develop Special Issues that focus on poorly understood application areas in educational neuroscience. I also see the Section “Educational Neurosciences” becoming the go-to interdisciplinary source for burgeoning theory and applications to the classroom and out-of-the-classroom learning and instructions. I plan for the journal to become integrally involved in university program development as well as form linkages with professional organizations pushing forward with the same vision and agenda.

3. What does the future of this field of research look like?
Cognitive neuroscience has made many strides over the past eighty years and the application to classroom-based instruction offers the possibility of a fundamental sea change in how the educational product is delivered and acquired. Recent advances in cognitive neuroscience have produced fundamental changes in how we understand nervous system structure and function as applied to thinking, cognition, memory, brain organization and behavior, and much more than previously thought. We now know that simplistic left-right differences and cerebral asymmetries are less important in understanding classroom learning but more multifaceted brain network, applications to instruction and external means of altering brain chemistry and neuroplasticity to facilitate learning have led to newly developed concepts and findings that have not found their way into the classroom, in teacher training and in educational policy.

We require the advancement of innovative models to better understand activities that can importantly affect motivation, learning, and memory as well as evaluation methodologies that can observe, study and assess these functions. We are slowly realizing that there exists a significant intersection between the problems of psychological, sociological, and educational processes and those of neurobiology, biochemistry, and neurophysiology, with the possibility of reciprocal assistance. Neuroscience has influenced school-based activity in various ways. For example, it has provided us with a better understanding of the nature of dyslexia and has offered insights into how diverse variables such as attention, sleep, relationships and anxiety can affect educational outcomes. Many difficulties exist in actualizing cognitive neuroscience applied to the classroom. Principally the various disciplines have different end goals such as prescriptive vs. descriptive or fact vs. solution oriented. Additionally, the neurosciences have been measuring effects in milliseconds to minutes whereas education has been more concerned with changes measured in days, weeks, and years. What is therefore necessary is the creation of a common language integrating what we know, what we have yet to learn, and mechanisms of translation to practice in the same way that the ancient Greeks required a common language for workers from various parts of the Greek world to understand each other in order to build “The Glory that was Greece and the grandeur that was Rome.” Plainly, we need to find a common language for education, learning, and study.

4. What do you think of the development of open access in the publishing field?
Science is paid for largely by governments and the results and applications of sciences, therefore, are owned by those who fund it – the people. Article 19 of the Declaration of human rights clearly states, “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” I think it is quite clear that the dissemination of information, including scientific ones, demands free access by the public and Creative Commons speaks directly to that. I see open access as a human right.

The editorial team warmly welcome Prof. Dr. Gerry Leisman in his role as Section Editor-in-Chief of the “Educational Neuroscience” Section, and we look forward to his leading Brain Sciences to achieve more milestones.

MDPI will be attending ASHG 2022, held in Los Angeles, USA, from 25 to 29 October 2022.

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• Genes;
• JPM;
• Biomedicines;
• Biomolecules;
• Cardiogenetics;
• Cancers;
• Brain Science;
• Symmetry;
• Diagnostics;
• Metabolites;
• Cells;
• Biology;
• Humans;
• DNA.

If you plan on attending this conference, feel free to stop by our booth: #1844. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person to answer any questions you may have.

For more information about the conference, please see the following link:

https://www.ashg.org/meetings/2022-annual-meeting/.