Environmental and Microbial Stressors in Neuronal Dysfunction: Mechanistic Insights
A special issue of Life (ISSN 2075-1729). This special issue belongs to the section "Physiology and Pathology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2026 | Viewed by 125
Special Issue Editors
Interests: neuropsychiatric/neurodegenerative disorders; neurogastroenterology; neurotoxicology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders; comparative neuroanatomy and brain histopathology; experimental neurotoxicology and environmental toxicants; neurotrophins and receptor signaling in the CNS; molecular and histological biomarkers of neural damage
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Accumulating evidence indicates that neuropsychiatric disorders are influenced by environmental exposures, oxidative imbalance, disrupted neurotrophin signaling, and gut–brain axis dysregulation. Experimental neurotoxicology provides a mechanistic framework for understanding how exogenous and endogenous stressors, including toxicants and microbially derived metabolites, induce neuronal vulnerability, synaptic dysfunction, and region-specific structural alterations within the central nervous system.
This Special Issue focuses on experimental models investigating mechanisms of toxicant- and microbiota-associated neuronal dysfunction relevant to neuropsychiatric disorders. Particular emphasis will be placed on neurotrophin signaling pathways, oxidative stress-mediated neuronal injury, gut–brain axis interactions, and brain region-specific histopathological alterations.
Rodent models remain essential for mechanistic and translational investigations due to their high neurobiological homology with humans. Complementarily, zebrafish (Danio rerio) provide a validated platform for high-throughput behavioral phenotyping, molecular analyses, microbiota manipulation, and region-specific brain histopathology, enabling precise assessment of neurobehavioral alterations induced by environmental and microbial factors.
The Special Issue welcomes studies examining:
- Molecular mechanisms of toxicant- or microbiota-associated neuronal dysfunction
- Neurotrophin signaling dysregulation in experimental models
- Oxidative stress and redox imbalance in neural injury
- Gut–brain axis modulation and microbiota-derived neuroactive metabolites
- Brain region-specific neuroanatomical and histopathological changes
- Integrated behavioral, molecular, and microbiome profiling in validated animal models
By concentrating on mechanistic pathways linking environmental and microbiota-related stressors to structural and functional neural impairment, this Special Issue aims to provide a focused platform for advancing translational experimental neurotoxicology in neuropsychiatric research.
Dr. Ovidiu Dumitru Ilie
Dr. Adriana Petrovici
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 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-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Life is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2600 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
- experimental neurotoxicology
- neuropsychiatric disorders
- neurotrophin signaling
- BDNF–Trk pathway
- oxidative stress
- gut–brain axis
- microbiota–brain interactions
- toxicant-induced neuronal dysfunction
- zebrafish (Danio rerio) model
- rodent models
- behavioral phenotyping
- brain histopathology
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.
