Clinical Translation in Disorders of Consciousness: New Pathways and Challenges
A special issue of Brain Sciences (ISSN 2076-3425). This special issue belongs to the section "Systems Neuroscience".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 April 2026
Special Issue Editors
Interests: brain injury; consciousness; coma; vegetative state; unresponsive wakefulness syndrome; minimally conscious state; post-traumatic confusional state; locked-in syndrome
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
2. Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, McGovern Medical School, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA
Interests: brain injury; consciousness; coma; vegetative state; unresponsive wakefulness syndrome; minimally conscious state; post-traumatic confusional state; locked-in syndrome
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Advancing the translation of neuroscience into everyday care for patients with disorders of consciousness (DoC) remains one of the field’s most pressing challenges. Recent work has underscored the importance of moving beyond single-technique investigations toward integrative, patient-centered approaches that connect mechanistic research, clinical guidelines, and implementation science. This Special Issue welcomes contributions that employ multimodal methodologies (e.g., neuroimaging, electrophysiology, neuromodulation, and digital health), leverage interdisciplinary collaborations across neuroscience, rehabilitation, psychology, and bioengineering, and adopt patient-centered frameworks such as individualized rehabilitation pathways and family-engaged care models. By featuring studies that bridge experimental and clinical domains, we aim to stimulate dialogue on how diverse methods and perspectives can collectively advance diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment in DoC. We hope this issue will serve as both a reflection of current challenges and a catalyst for future translational research in this field.
Dr. Caroline Schnakers
Dr. Katherine O'Brien
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Brain Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- disorders of consciousness
- brain injury
- consciousness
- coma
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
