Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms in Neuropsychiatric and Neurological Disorders—Second Edition
A Special Issue of Cells (ISSN 2073-4409) belonging to the section "Cellular Pathology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2027 | Viewed by 12
Editor
Interests: neuroinflammation; inflammation; neuroactive steroids; toll-like receptors; depression; alcohol use disorders
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Following the successful completion of the first edition of our Special Issue, titled "Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms in Neuropsychiatric and Neurological Disorders", we are pleased to announce the launch of its second edition.
This Special Issue delves into the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying various neuropsychiatric and neurological disorders. It explores how disruptions at the cellular level, such as neuronal signaling, gene and protein expression, and synaptic function, contribute to the pathogenesis of psychiatric, neurodevelopmental, neurodegenerative, and stress-related conditions. The roles of neuroinflammation and glial cells, with a particular focus on the impact of peripheral factors on neuroinflammation, are also within the scope of discussion.
In addition, the second edition will further address high-resolution approaches to disease mechanisms, including single-cell and spatial omics applied to defined brain regions and cell populations, and patient-derived models such as iPSC-derived neurons and cerebral organoids.
We also welcome work on systemic crosstalk between the periphery and the central nervous system. This includes gut–brain–microbiome signaling and the action of microbial metabolites on central immune function, glymphatic clearance and neurovascular unit integrity, and mitochondrial dynamics and cellular bioenergetics as shared pathological features across disorders.
Contributions on emerging therapeutic modalities are encouraged, particularly gene editing and nucleic acid therapeutics, targeted protein degradation approaches, and the molecular pathways underlying rapid-acting interventions such as psychedelics, ketamine, and neuromodulation.
Finally, the issue will consider lifespan and environmental influences on disease risk, including epigenetic regulation in early-life stress and age-related vulnerability, circadian and sleep biology in relation to synaptic and proteostatic processes, and the molecular neurotoxicology of environmental exposures.
We welcome studies grounded in cellular or molecular mechanisms. Purely clinical or observational work without mechanistic data falls outside the scope of this Special Issue.
By integrating insights from genetics, molecular biology, neurobiology, and immunology, this Special Issue aims to advance our understanding of the underlying biological processes and identify potential therapeutic targets for intervention.
Dr. Irina Balan
Guest Editor
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 communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
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-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Cells is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2700 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
- cellular mechanisms
- molecular mechanisms
- neuropsychiatric disorders
- neurological disorders
- neuroinflammation
- neuronal signaling
- gene expression
- synaptic function
- glial cells
- peripheral factors
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