Neurobiological and Neuroepigenetic Factors in Childhood Disorders: Autism Spectrum Disorder and Obesity
A special issue of Life (ISSN 2075-1729). This special issue belongs to the section "Physiology and Pathology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 628
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Clinical diagnoses of obesity and autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are increasingly prevalent, with reports indicating an incidence rate of 1 in 8 adults and 1 in 100 children afflicted with obesity and ASD, respectively. Interesingly, there is an increased co-morbidity between obesity and ASD relative to children without ASD, suggesting shared etiological and neurobiological mechanisms that underlie these adverse phenotypes. Given the polygenic nature of these disease states, identifying risk factors, as well as aberrant neurobiological mechansisms that support the pathophysiology of obesity and ASD is incredibly challenging. Factors that contribute to the development of obesity and ASD include environmental factors such as diet, exposure to teratogens or medications while pregnant and alterations to epigenetic mechanisms, as well as an overall genetic predisposition. This Special Issue will explore how each of these factors influence obesity and/or ASD pathophysiology, and how these factors impact the function, connectivity between and/or morphology in the hypothalamus, cerebellum, frontal cortex and other brain areas implicated in obesity and ASD. Importantly, this Special Issue will also discuss the interplay between environmental, epigenetic and genetic factors to ultimately produce these co-morbid conditions in children and adults.
Dr. Elisa Na
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- obesity
- autism spectrum disorder
- hypothalamus
- cerebellum
- frontal cortex
- epigenetics
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