Model Systems to Study the Mechanisms of Neural Development and Disease

  • 14k

    Total Downloads

  • 63k

    Total Views and Downloads

Download PDFDownload EPUB

Submit your idea

Select the journal/section where you want your idea to be submitted:

Submit your manuscript summarySubmit your manuscript

About this Research Topic

Submission closed

Background

Model organisms have long been and continue to be instrumental in facilitating our understanding of the development of the nervous system and neurodevelopmental disorders. There is considerable conservation in developmental mechanisms between humans and animal models like rodents especially regarding gross anatomy, patterning, and neuronal function. However, recent studies indicate that there are also critical fundamental differences in the neurodevelopmental mechanisms including the presence of human-specific features that are either reduced or altogether absent in animals. Such interspecies differences pose significant challenges to the advancement of therapeutic approaches against devastating neurodevelopmental disorders involving these human-specific phenotypes. Therefore, a better appreciation of neurodevelopment and disease in humans vis-à-vis animal models is necessary and the need of the hour as it will facilitate a better understanding of human development and disease, and aid in the creation of targeted and effective therapies. Recent advances in technology around imaging, genomics, and transcriptomics have helped us identify similarities and differences between humans and commonly used development and disease models, facilitating comparative studies and the establishment of the “humanized” animal and cellular models that aim to understand and characterize many human-specific characteristics in different contexts.

Animal models have played a crucial role in dissecting the cellular and molecular features of neural development. However, some animal models have limitations particularly since they do not mimic some of the more unique features of human brain development. More recently, cellular models like organoids have been employed to model complex features of cerebral cortical disease in the absence of appropriate animal models. Therefore, the need of the hour is to evaluate the role of animal and cellular models in determining the mechanisms of neural development and disease.

The main goal of this project is to invite the submission of articles and reviews from researchers who use various model systems and are interested in different aspects of neural development spanning different aspects of basic biology right from the identification of candidate genes to translational aspects such as the testing of therapies for central nervous system birth defects. The goal is to establish a collection that will assess the strengths as well as the weaknesses of animal and cellular models in advancing our understanding of human brain development and disease.

The scope of the Research Topic covers the following themes:

• Established models to study neural development and disease
o Cellular models (human pluripotent stem cell-based 2-dimensional and 3D-dimensional models to study nervous system development and gene function)
o Mammalian models (genetically engineered rodent models and other higher mammalian and non-human primate models)
o Other vertebrate and non-vertebrate animal models of neural development and disease
• High-throughput approaches to study neural development
o Single cell-based transcriptomic and epigenomic approaches to identify novel cell types/states and disease mechanisms
o Large-scale comparative analyses of animal models and human neurodevelopment
o GWAS studies to identify disease-linked genomic alterations and mutations
• Advanced imaging approaches to study neural development
• Use of cellular and animal models to develop therapies for neural disease
• Advances in gene editing to model rare neurodevelopmental disorders in cellular and animal models

We are inviting all kinds of manuscripts permitted by Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience including Original articles, commentaries, reviews, opinions, and so on.

Keywords: Development, Models, Disease, Nervous system, CNS disorders

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.

Topic editors

Frequently asked questions

  • Frontiers' Research Topics are collaborative hubs built around an emerging theme.Defined, managed, and led by renowned researchers, they bring communities together around a shared area of interest to stimulate collaboration and innovation.

    Unlike section journals, which serve established specialty communities, Research Topics are pioneer hubs, responding to the evolving scientific landscape and catering to new communities.

  • The goal of Frontiers' publishing program is to empower research communities to actively steer the course of scientific publishing. Our program was implemented as a three-part unit with fixed field journals, flexible specialty sections, and dynamically emerging Research Topics, connecting communities of different sizes and maturity.

    Research Topics originate from the scientific community. Many of our Research Topics are suggested by existing editorial board members who have identified critical challenges or areas of interest in their field.

  • As an editor, Research Topics will help you build your journal, as well as your community, around emerging, cutting-edge research. As research trailblazers, Research Topics attract high-quality submissions from leading experts all over the world.

    A thriving Research Topic can potentially evolve into a new specialty section if there is sustained interest and a growing community around it.

  • Each Research Topic must be approved by the specialty chief editor, and they fall under the editorial oversight of our editorial boards, supported by our in-house research integrity team. The same standards and rigorous peer review processes apply to articles published as part of a Research Topic as for any other article we publish.

      In 2023, 80% of the Research Topics we published were edited or co-edited by our editorial board members, who are already familiar with their journal's scope, ethos, and publishing model. All other topics are guest edited by leaders in their field, each vetted and formally approved by the specialty chief editor.

  • Publishing your article within a Research Topic with other related articles increases its discoverability and visibility, which can lead to more views, downloads, and citations. Research Topics grow dynamically as more published articles are added, causing frequent revisiting, and further visibility.

    As Research Topics are multidisciplinary, they are cross-listed in several fields and section journals – increasing your reach even more and giving you the chance to expand your network and collaborate with researchers in different fields, all focusing on expanding knowledge around the same important topic.

    Our larger Research Topics are also converted into ebooks and receive social media promotion from our digital marketing team.

     

  • Frontiers offers multiple article types, but it will depend on the field and section journals in which the Research Topic will be featured. The available article types for a Research Topic will appear in the drop-down menu during the submission process.

    Check available article types here 

  • Yes, we would love to hear your ideas for a topic. Most of our Research Topics are community-led and suggested by researchers in the field. Our in-house editorial team will contact you to talk about your idea and whether you’d like to edit the topic. If you’re an early-stage researcher, we will offer you the opportunity to coordinate your topic, with the support of a senior researcher as the topic editor. 

    Suggest your topic here 

  • A team of guest editors (called topic editors) lead their Research Topic. This editorial team oversees the entire process, from the initial topic proposal to calls for participation, the peer review, and final publications.

    The team may also include topic coordinators, who help the topic editors send calls for participation, liaise with topic editors on abstracts, and support contributing authors. In some cases, they can also be assigned as reviewers.

  • As a topic editor (TE), you will take the lead on all editorial decisions for the Research Topic, starting with defining its scope. This allows you to curate research around a topic that interests you, bring together different perspectives from leading researchers across different fields and shape the future of your field. 

     

    You will choose your team of co-editors, curate a list of potential authors, send calls for participation and oversee the peer review process, accepting or recommending rejection for each manuscript submitted.

  • As a topic editor, you're supported at every stage by our in-house team. You will be assigned a single point of contact to help you on both editorial and technical matters. Your topic is managed through our user-friendly online platform, and the peer review process is supported by our industry-first AI review assistant (AIRA).

  • If you’re an early-stage researcher, we will offer you the opportunity to coordinate your topic, with the support of a senior researcher as the topic editor. This provides you with valuable editorial experience, improving your ability to critically evaluate research articles and enhancing your understanding of the quality standards and requirements for scientific publishing, as well as the opportunity to discover new research in your field, and expand your professional network.

  • Yes, certificates can be issued on request. We are happy to provide a certificate for your contribution to editing a successful Research Topic.

  • Research Topics thrive on collaboration and their multi-disciplinary approach around emerging, cutting-edge themes, attract leading researchers from all over the world.

  • As a topic editor, you can set the timeline for your Research Topic, and we will work with you at your pace. Typically, Research Topics are online and open for submissions within a few weeks and remain open for participation for 6 – 12 months. Individual articles within a Research Topic are published as soon as they are ready.

    Find out more about our Research Topics

  • Our fee support program ensures that all articles that pass peer review, including those published in Research Topics, can benefit from open access – regardless of the author's field or funding situation.

    Authors and institutions with insufficient funding can apply for a discount on their publishing fees. A fee support application form is available on our website.

  • In line with our mission to promote healthy lives on a healthy planet, we do not provide printed materials. All our articles and ebooks are available under a CC-BY license, so you can share and print copies.

     

Participating Journals

Impact

  • 63kTopic views
  • 47kArticle views
  • 14kArticle downloads
View impact