About this Research Topic
Preclinical animal models are a fundamental link between the discovery of basic molecular mechanism from single cell organisms and full-scale clinical trials. From the acceleration of pharmacological outcomes to the evaluation of feasibility in revolutionary gene therapies, animal models have been making possible to improve clinical image acquisition procedures and the setup of more comprehensive neuromonitoring protocols. Hence, the combination of biological models and multi-modal imaging modalities has been praised as the ultimate tool in the investigation of neurodegenerative disease. Thus, improvements in imaging systems and more precise genetic manipulations in biological models are possible new routes to find ways to reduce diseases progression or find more definitive cures.
In this Research Topic we are welcoming authors from any related neuroscience field to contribute with original research articles that will demonstrate the growing effort in the search of novel neuroimaging methods and new imaging biomarkers for neurodegeneration. Thus, the overall goal of this theme is to provide the reader with a wide-ranging overview of current innovative imaging techniques that are sensitive to novel biological paradigms and animal models to aid translational research in the diagnosis and monitoring of neurodegenerative diseases.
Potential subjects included can be related (but are not limited to):
• Application of neuroimaging techniques to assess, classify and/or quantify disease progression applied to animal models.
• Basic or translational research applying new methods to discover novel imaging biomarkers across different biological models of neurodegeneration.
• Use of biomarkers measured by single or multi-modal imaging systems (Optical imaging, PET, SPECT, MRI derived techniques) with a focus on experimental preclinical models.
• Innovative neuroimaging techniques to evaluate brain connectivity in the context of neurodegenerative diseases.
• Application of imaging techniques to acquire in-vivo neuropsychological measures.
Authors are kindly requested to submit manuscripts focusing on brain imaging application through the section Neurodegeneration, and manuscript focusing on the development, improvement, assessment, and validation of methods for the acquisition, management, analysis or interpretation of neuroimaging data, through the section Brain Imaging Methods.
Keywords: neuroimaging, neurodegenerative diseases, animal models, magnetic resonance imaging, microscopy
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.