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Molecular Advances in Mental Health and Disorders
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Molecular Advances in Mental Health and Disorders

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Pathology, Diagnostics, and Therapeutics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 September 2025 | Viewed by 3289

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Eva Christina Schulte

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
2. Institute of Human Genetics, University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
Interests: genetics of mental health disorders; functional screens; multiomics; lipidomics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Today, the molecular basis of mental health disorders is still incompletely understood. Yet, it is this lack of an in-depth understanding of the pathophysiology underlying these disorders that presents one of the most important hurdles to new therapeutic and more precise treatment strategies. At the same time, recent years have seen great technological advances in many different pieces of the molecular puzzles in the way that molecular questions can be addressed.

This special issue entitled “Molecular Advances in Mental Health Disorders” seeks to shed light on novel molecular aspects of mental health disorders ranging from autism spectrum disorder to post traumatic stress disorder and from depression phenotypes to addictive disorders. It also includes mental health phenotypes in somatic disorders. Molecular advances can pertain to basic science research just as much as to clinical aspects. This special issue invites works on technological and methodological advances in the analysis of molecular processes in the context of mental health disorders. Further, “molecular advances” can describe the decryption of molecular processes underlying the pathophysiology of mental health disorders using model systems, but also the advances based on strategies rooted in molecular epidemiology and -omics in clinical and population-based cohorts.

Dr. Eva Christina Schulte
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 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

  • molecular studies
  • mental health disorders
  • model systems
  • molecular epidemiology
  • omics
 
 

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 3075 KiB  
Article
Plasma Metabolic and Inflammatory Protein Signatures in Psychiatric Disorders
by Manel Naifar, Franklin Ducatez, Wassim Guidara, Manel Maalej, Celine Lesueur, Carine Pilon, Thomas Plichet, Mohamed Maalej, Fatma Ayadi and Soumeya Bekri
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26(13), 6260; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26136260 - 28 Jun 2025
Viewed by 223
Abstract
Psychiatric disorders, particularly schizophrenia (SCZ), bipolar disorder (BD), and schizoaffective disorder (SAD), present significant diagnostic challenges. Current diagnostic methods rely on clinical observation and self-reported symptoms, leading to under-diagnosis and delayed treatment. To address this gap, we applied mass spectrometry-based metabolomic profiling and [...] Read more.
Psychiatric disorders, particularly schizophrenia (SCZ), bipolar disorder (BD), and schizoaffective disorder (SAD), present significant diagnostic challenges. Current diagnostic methods rely on clinical observation and self-reported symptoms, leading to under-diagnosis and delayed treatment. To address this gap, we applied mass spectrometry-based metabolomic profiling and targeted analysis of inflammatory proteins to plasma samples from patients versus controls, aiming to uncover disease-related molecular patterns and enhance our understanding of the underlying pathophysiology of these complex disorders. This study included 26 patients with BD, 34 with SCZ, 16 with SAD, and age- and sex-matched controls. All diagnoses were established according to DSM-5 criteria. Unsupervised analysis shows a clear separation between controls and patients, indicating distinct metabolic and inflammatory profiles. However, the lack of clear differentiation among the three disease subgroups suggests shared biological profiles across these psychiatric disorders. Biomolecules driving this separation between controls and patients includes decreased levels of proinflammatory cytokines, amino acids, and glycerophospholipids, and increased levels of acylcarnitines. This study represents a step towards addressing the limitations of current diagnostic approaches to severe psychiatric disorders, which rely heavily on clinical symptoms, by using omics approaches to refine their diagnosis and treatment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Advances in Mental Health and Disorders)
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23 pages, 3843 KiB  
Article
ApoE Isoform-Dependent Effects on Extinction of Contextual Fear Memory and Passive Avoidance Memory
by Elizabeth Saltonstall, Alexandra Pederson, Abigail O’Niel, Sarah Holden, Kat Kessler, Eileen Ruth Samson Torres and Jacob Raber
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26(12), 5820; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26125820 - 17 Jun 2025
Viewed by 368
Abstract
Following exposure to trauma, avoidance behavior can be protective but also contribute to severe symptoms and interfere with exposure-based therapy. Extinction of fear conditioning by exposure to the same environment or environmental cues that were present during the initial traumatic event but without [...] Read more.
Following exposure to trauma, avoidance behavior can be protective but also contribute to severe symptoms and interfere with exposure-based therapy. Extinction of fear conditioning by exposure to the same environment or environmental cues that were present during the initial traumatic event but without including the aversive stimulus or stimuli is often used to study post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a condition characterized by an inability to suppress conditioned fear responses. A limitation of this paradigm is that one cannot avoid the context or cues associated with the initial traumatic event. In contrast, in the passive avoidance test, one can escape the environment associated with the aversive stimulus. Genetic factors might modulate the ability to extinguish fear memory. In this study, we compared the effects of distinct human apoE isoforms on the extinction of contextual fear and passive avoidance memory, as well as on subsequent activity levels, depressive-like behavior, and hippocampal levels of tau, in targeted replacement mice. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Advances in Mental Health and Disorders)
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19 pages, 4708 KiB  
Article
ANKK1 Is a Wnt/PCP Scaffold Protein for Neural F-ACTIN Assembly
by Laura Domínguez-Berzosa, Lara Cantarero, María Rodríguez-Sanz, Gemma Tort, Elena Garrido, Johanna Troya-Balseca, María Sáez, Xóchitl Helga Castro-Martínez, Sara Fernandez-Lizarbe, Edurne Urquizu, Enrique Calvo, Juan Antonio López, Tomás Palomo, Francesc Palau and Janet Hoenicka
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(19), 10705; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms251910705 - 4 Oct 2024
Viewed by 1974
Abstract
The TaqIA polymorphism is a marker of both the Ankyrin Repeat and Kinase Domain containing I gene (ANKK1) encoding a RIP-kinase, and the DRD2 gene for the dopamine receptor D2. Despite a large number of studies of TaqIA in [...] Read more.
The TaqIA polymorphism is a marker of both the Ankyrin Repeat and Kinase Domain containing I gene (ANKK1) encoding a RIP-kinase, and the DRD2 gene for the dopamine receptor D2. Despite a large number of studies of TaqIA in addictions and other psychiatric disorders, there is difficulty in interpreting this genetic phenomenon due to the lack of knowledge about ANKK1 function. In SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma models, we show that ANKK1 interacts with the synapse protein FERM ARH/RhoGEF and Pleckstrin Domain 1 (FARP1), which is a guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) of the RhoGTPases RAC1 and RhoA. ANKK1–FARP1 colocalized in F-ACTIN-rich structures for neuronal maturation and migration, and both proteins activate the Wnt/PCP pathway. ANKK1, but not FARP1, promotes neuritogenesis, and both proteins are involved in neuritic spine outgrowth. Notably, the knockdown of ANKK1 or FARP1 affects RhoGTPases expression and neural differentiation. Additionally, ANKK1 binds WGEF, another GEF of Wnt/PCP, regulating its interaction with RhoA. During neuronal differentiation, ANKK1–WGEF interaction is downregulated, while ANKK1–FARP1 interaction is increased, suggesting that ANKK1 recruits Wnt/PCP components for bidirectional control of F-ACTIN assembly. Our results suggest a brain structural basis in TaqIA-associated phenotypes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Advances in Mental Health and Disorders)
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