In the nervous system, synapses are specialized contact sites between two neurons, or between a neuron and a gland or muscle cell, serving as structural basis for neuronal communication and circuit establishment. Dysfunction of synapses emerged in the last two decades as a common characteristic to a variety of neurodegenerative, neurodevelopmental, and psychiatric diseases, and disorders of the spinal cord and peripheral nervous system collectively called synaptopathies. Memory and/or motor deficits resulting, at least partially, from neuronal circuit dysfunctions, constitute the most common clinical manifestations. The overlap of the pathophysiological and clinical aspects suggests a central role for synaptic defects in the development of a wide range of disorders, regardless of their etiology.
While it remains a debate whether synaptic dysfunction is a cause or an effect, accumulating evidence indicates that interventions that restored synaptic composition or physiology also reversed loss of synapses, memory deficits, and/or motor dysfunction in different disease models, such as Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease, Ataxia, and FXS. Since the molecular pathomechanisms characterizing the majority of the synaptopathies are still poorly understood and most of them are still incurable, the identification of commonalities in these pathologies may help identify new therapeutic targets and lead to the development of novel therapeutic strategies and clinical trials to prevent, diagnose or treat these diseases. Within this Research Topic, we are aiming at deepening our understanding of the circuit- or region-specific synaptic contribution to different neurological conditions independently from their etiological factors, as well as exploring at which stage interventions aiming at rescuing synaptic alterations might represent a valid entry point for the identification of novel diagnostic markers and therapeutic strategies.
To bridge the gap between the bench and the clinic, we would like to collect articles (research article or review) on the systemic, cellular, and molecular mechanisms, diagnostic tools, or therapeutic strategies to address how the synaptic dysfunction contributes to pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of neurodegenerative, neurodevelopmental, psychiatric disorders, and diseases of spinal cord and peripheral nervous system. We are particularly interested in Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease, Parkinson's disease, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Fragile X syndrome, Autism spectrum disorders, Schizophrenia, Stress/Depression, Epilepsy, Ataxia, Multiple sclerosis, Spinal muscular atrophy.
In the nervous system, synapses are specialized contact sites between two neurons, or between a neuron and a gland or muscle cell, serving as structural basis for neuronal communication and circuit establishment. Dysfunction of synapses emerged in the last two decades as a common characteristic to a variety of neurodegenerative, neurodevelopmental, and psychiatric diseases, and disorders of the spinal cord and peripheral nervous system collectively called synaptopathies. Memory and/or motor deficits resulting, at least partially, from neuronal circuit dysfunctions, constitute the most common clinical manifestations. The overlap of the pathophysiological and clinical aspects suggests a central role for synaptic defects in the development of a wide range of disorders, regardless of their etiology.
While it remains a debate whether synaptic dysfunction is a cause or an effect, accumulating evidence indicates that interventions that restored synaptic composition or physiology also reversed loss of synapses, memory deficits, and/or motor dysfunction in different disease models, such as Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease, Ataxia, and FXS. Since the molecular pathomechanisms characterizing the majority of the synaptopathies are still poorly understood and most of them are still incurable, the identification of commonalities in these pathologies may help identify new therapeutic targets and lead to the development of novel therapeutic strategies and clinical trials to prevent, diagnose or treat these diseases. Within this Research Topic, we are aiming at deepening our understanding of the circuit- or region-specific synaptic contribution to different neurological conditions independently from their etiological factors, as well as exploring at which stage interventions aiming at rescuing synaptic alterations might represent a valid entry point for the identification of novel diagnostic markers and therapeutic strategies.
To bridge the gap between the bench and the clinic, we would like to collect articles (research article or review) on the systemic, cellular, and molecular mechanisms, diagnostic tools, or therapeutic strategies to address how the synaptic dysfunction contributes to pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of neurodegenerative, neurodevelopmental, psychiatric disorders, and diseases of spinal cord and peripheral nervous system. We are particularly interested in Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease, Parkinson's disease, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Fragile X syndrome, Autism spectrum disorders, Schizophrenia, Stress/Depression, Epilepsy, Ataxia, Multiple sclerosis, Spinal muscular atrophy.
