Dear Colleagues,

In mammals, all the nutrients needed by the fetus are provided by the mother under a strict regulation by the placenta that plays the double role as nutrient provider and endocrine organ.

Neurodevelopment during embryo and fetal development relies on a precise control of proliferation, differentiation and migration of the several types of neural cells that constitute the different brain areas. These processes are determined by internal programs but they are also responsive to external cues, among which nutrient availability. Cellular differentiation of neural stem/progenitor cells relies on the expression of lineage specific genes. This process is strictly regulated at the pre- and post-transcriptional level but the influence of environmental cues, especially nutrients, on these regulatory systems is still very poorly characterized.

The purpose of this special issue is to investigate the impact of maternal nutrition or metabolic status (including obesity and special diets such as vegetarian or vegan) on fetal neurodevelopment. Emphasis will be placed on the cellular and molecular mechanisms, including cellular energy metabolism, epigenetics or epitranscriptomics, by which nutrients reaching the fetus may influence key neurodevelopmental milestones and affect brain function.

Experimental studies in in vitro and in vivo models, review articles are all welcome for consideration.

Dr. Valerie Amarger
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.

• Maternal nutrition
• Neuro-development
• Neurogenesis
• Neural stem/progenitor cells
• Cell differentiation
• Epigenetics
• Epitranscriptomics