ijms-logo

Journal Browser

Journal Browser

Molecular Mechanisms and Neural Circuits in Behavioral Neuroscience

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Neurobiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 February 2026 | Viewed by 642

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Child Psychopathology Unit, IRCCS "Eugenio Medea" Via Don Luigi Monza 20, 23842 Bosisio Parini, LC, Italy
2. Psychobiology of Behavior Lab, Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Via dei Marsi 78, 00185 Rome, Italy
Interests: neuroscience; animal models; early life stress; motivation; stress; addiction; gene environment interplay

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Dipartimento di Psicologia and Centro “Daniel Bovet”, Sapienza-Università di Roma, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00181 Roma, Italy
Interests: behavioral, neurochemical and molecular mechanisms associated with resilience and vulnerability to psychopathologies induced by stress exposure; on the role of deregulation of non-coding RNAs in psychiatric disorders, including drug addiction, anxiety and affective disorders

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Behavior represents a fundamental aspect of our existence, as it allows us to interact with and respond to the environment.

Therefore, the precise characterization—both qualitative and quantitative—of the neurobiological basis behind behavior represents a critical issue in the definition of both normal and pathological manifestations, with their modeling posing a fundamental challenge in the interdisciplinary field of neuroscience. Indeed, understanding the molecular basis behind specific brain systems and circuits underlying unusual behavioral manifestations represents a fundamental step in understanding both the etiopathogenesis and the mechanisms underlying resilience or susceptibility to psychopathology.

The Guest Editors of this Special Issue are Dr. Matteo Di Segni and Dr. Rossella Ventura, assisted by Dr. Lucy Babicola (IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia). We welcome contributions including original experimental, theoretical, and computational studies that offer new insights into biochemical and molecular aspects characterizing both normal and pathological manifestations. Pure clinical studies are not suitable for this Special Issue, although clinical submissions featuring molecular experiments are welcome. We invite contributions from intersecting disciplines to assist in the implementation of targeted and tailored pharmacological interventions and possibly the identification of molecular fingerprints linked to risk/protective factors and therapy outcomes.

Dr. Matteo Di Segni
Dr. Rossella Ventura
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. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. 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

  • behavioral neuroscience
  • neural circuits
  • psychopathology
  • neuroscience
  • drug addiction
  • depression
  • mental illness

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.

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

17 pages, 521 KB  
Article
DNA Methylation Mediates the Association Between Prenatal Maternal Stress and the Broad Autism Phenotype in Human Adolescents: Project Ice Storm
by Lei Cao-Lei, Guillaume Elgbeili, David P. Laplante, Moshe Szyf and Suzanne King
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26(19), 9468; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26199468 - 27 Sep 2025
Viewed by 447
Abstract
Prenatal maternal stress (PNMS) predicts risk for autism spectrum disorders (ASD), although the mechanisms are unknown. Because ASD and autistic-like traits have been associated with both prenatal stress and DNA methylation differences, it is important to examine whether epigenetic mechanisms mediate the pathway [...] Read more.
Prenatal maternal stress (PNMS) predicts risk for autism spectrum disorders (ASD), although the mechanisms are unknown. Because ASD and autistic-like traits have been associated with both prenatal stress and DNA methylation differences, it is important to examine whether epigenetic mechanisms mediate the pathway from PNMS to later autistic-like outcomes. This study aimed to determine the extent to which DNA methylation mediates the association between PNMS from a natural disaster and autistic-like traits in offspring assessed during adolescence. Five months following the 1998 ice storm in Quebec, we recruited women who had been pregnant during the crisis and assessed their PNMS: objective hardship, subjective distress, and cognitive appraisal. At age 13, their children provided blood samples for DNA. At ages 15, 16 and 19, the youth self-reported their own autistic-like traits using the Broad Autism Phenotype Questionnaire. This longitudinal design allowed us to track the developmental pathway from prenatal exposure, through adolescent DNA methylation, to later behavioral outcomes. Analyses included youth with data on PNMS, DNA methylation, and the BAPQ (n = 27 at age 15; 22 at age 16; and 13 at age 19). Results showed that mothers’ disaster-related objective hardship and their negative cognitive appraisal of the disaster were associated with DNA methylation at age 13, which then were associated with the severity of their children’s Aloof Personality and Pragmatic Language Deficits, but not Rigid Personality, at ages 15, 16 and 19. Mediation was significant particularly through genes within the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway, which has been implicated in various neurodevelopmental disorders, including ASD. Interestingly, while greater PNMS predicted more severe ASD traits, the epigenetics effects were for less severe traits. Although other interpretations are possible, these results could suggest that DNA methylation, assessed in early adolescence, may protect against ASD traits at later ages, particularly when there is a mismatch between the prenatal environment (disaster) and the postnatal environment (absence of disaster). The interpretation of these findings benefits from the longitudinal design and is discussed in the context of fetal programming and the predictive adaptive response. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Mechanisms and Neural Circuits in Behavioral Neuroscience)
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

Back to TopTop