In partnership with the Jacques Monod Conference
“Genetics, environment, signaling & synaptic plasticity in developmental brain disorders: from bench to bedside", the Frontiers in Neuroscience Journal announces an article collection that will highlight cutting-edge research presented at the 2022 meeting from Monday 11th Apr - Friday 15th Apr in Roscoff (Brittany).
Neurodevelopmental Disorders (NDDs) are a highly heterogeneous group of disorders with a prevalence of 3% of the worldwide population. These disorders include Intellectual Disability (ID), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, specific learning disorder, motor and language disorder, schizophrenia, and epilepsy. Thus, NDDs are characterized by deficits in cognition, social interaction, behavior, and motor functioning as a result of abnormal brain development. Several of these phenotypes can co-exist in the same patient. Indeed, for instance, up to 50% of ASD patients display also ID. Similarly, the prevalence of epilepsy in ID patients is around 26%. This phenotypic overlap is also mirrored at the genetic and molecular levels. For instance, some pathways (e.g., Rho-GTPase, group I mGluRs, cAMP and WNT) have been found to be altered in different forms of NDDs, both of genetic and environmental origin.
These findings suggest common pathophysiological mechanisms that can be considered as a continuum of developmental brain dysfunction. Although specific and effective treatments are not available for most NDDs, the care of these patients accounts for 10% of the total health care costs in Western countries. Thus, understanding the biological bases of these disorders and defining specific treatments will represent not only a great scientific/medical advance but also a major socio/economical challenge.
For this reason, this Research Topic focuses on innovative therapies for NDDs that will also include:
• Studies on common molecular pathways and circuits involved in the pathophysiology of NDDs that could result in common therapeutic approaches;
• Classical and novel approaches to define new drugs for NDDs;
• Innovative gene or cellular therapies for monogenic forms of NDDs;
• Characterization of cellular and animal models for NDDs;
• Definition of biomarkers in clinical setting of NDDs.
Submissions of new methods as well as interdisciplinary approaches for studying NDDs are encouraged.