Exploring New Treatments: Innovative Strategies Based on the Mechanism and Pathogenesis of Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Dear Colleagues,

Neurodevelopmental disorders are a group of conditions that affect the development of the brain and central nervous system, resulting in impairments in various areas, including early life seizures, cognition, communication, behavior, and motor skills. There is debate around whether seizures hinder the child's developmental progress or merely occur alongside neurodevelopmental impairment.  These disorders typically have their onset during the developmental period, often in childhood, and can persist throughout life. Currently, available antiepileptic medications (AEMs), which primarily focus on targeting membrane ion channels or neural transmission pathways, serve as the front-line treatment for seizure control, but these AEMs do not appear to treat developmental impairments effectively. Moreover, current AEMs have demonstrated limitations in effectively stopping early-onset epileptogenesis. Consequently, it is essential to (1) develop more effective AEMs, (2) understand mechanisms and create treatments for neurodevelopmental impairments, and (3) accurately evaluate whether early-onset seizures impact neurodevelopmental progress.

Recent advances in neuroscientific techniques—like chemogenetics, optogenetics, neural circuitry tracing, neuroimaging, and high-throughput sequencing—have greatly enhanced our understanding of the abnormal neural circuits involved in neurodevelopmental disorders. Continued research with these tools is crucial for identifying and developing new treatments.

We propose to investigate novel mechanisms of epileptogenesis and cognitive deficits in neurodevelopmental disorders and to create innovative therapeutic strategies. Original Research articles and Reviews that address, but are not limited to, the following themes:

• Examine cellular and molecular mechanisms of the early onset of seizures.
• Investigate the contribution of seizures in promoting developmental impairments, which lead to cognitive, communication, and motor deficits.
• Explore innovative therapeutic approaches aimed at terminating infantile epileptogenesis and easing the burden of cognitive, motor, and other behavioral deficits.

Dr. Muhammad Nauman Arshad
Prof. Dr. Bruce Carter
Guest Editors

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