Traditionally, our approach to understanding nervous system development and function has been predominantly neurocentric and has focused on the brain as an isolated autonomous organ. This approach has failed to identify the basis of complex cognitive function and cannot explain how neuronal circuit dynamics generate plastic behavioral outcomes or how many neuropathologies arise.
A breakthrough in the neuroscience field was identifying the role of glial cells in nervous system development and function. Now overwhelming evidence suggests that the brain is also modulated by extra-synaptic and inter-organ communication, systemic signals, and even environmental compounds and microbial metabolites. Moreover, an increasing number of features of the nervous system are now known to be under the influence of sex and age. Despite recent advances, multiple aspects still need to be addressed to fully understand how factors internal and external to the brain modulate the nervous system. Gaining insights into the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying these multifactorial interactions is crucial to getting a comprehensive overview of the field. Multidisciplinary studies, that combine approaches and areas that have not been previously explored together will pave the ground for future neuroscience research.
In this Research Topic, we are looking to address key aspects of the development and function of the nervous system from an integrative neuroscience perspective, to promote the discussion around this topic and facilitate knowledge dissemination.
Specifically, this Research Topic aims to:
i.) Highlight the limitations of a neurocentric approach while emphasizing the need for integrative studies and approaches in the field.
ii.) Compile emerging evidence of how factors intrinsic and extrinsic to the nervous system contribute to modulating the nervous system development and function, such as non-neuronal cells from the nervous system, different tissues, environmental factors, sex, and age, amongst others.
iii.) Describe novel methods developed to study inter-tissue interactions and their modulation of the brain.
iv.) Bring debate to the neuroscience community and provide perspectives from world-leading neuroscientists on emerging themes and new frontiers in the field.
We welcome the submission of review, perspective, original research, and methods articles providing a non-neurocentric angle on the following sub-topics applied to either the healthy, aging or diseased brain:
- Nutritional control of nervous system development and behavior.
- Interaction of the immune and nervous system (commensal and pathogen-related metabolites, neuroinflammation, etc.)
- Gut-brain axis and other metabolic interactions across tissues
- Glia-neuron crosstalk in energy homeostasis and signal transduction
- Role of non-neuronal cells and mechanical forces in nervous system assembly
- A holistic view of sexual cues (genetic and hormonal) in brain function
- Control of synaptic function, neural circuits, and behavior by non-neuronal peptides
- Cell diversity and plasticity in the brain
- Regulation of neural stem cell behavior by extrinsic factors (diet, circadian rhythms, inflammation, etc.)
- Non-neuronal cells as targets for tissue regeneration approaches
- Evolution of the nervous system
-Genetic and epigenetic regulation of the nervous system
Traditionally, our approach to understanding nervous system development and function has been predominantly neurocentric and has focused on the brain as an isolated autonomous organ. This approach has failed to identify the basis of complex cognitive function and cannot explain how neuronal circuit dynamics generate plastic behavioral outcomes or how many neuropathologies arise.
A breakthrough in the neuroscience field was identifying the role of glial cells in nervous system development and function. Now overwhelming evidence suggests that the brain is also modulated by extra-synaptic and inter-organ communication, systemic signals, and even environmental compounds and microbial metabolites. Moreover, an increasing number of features of the nervous system are now known to be under the influence of sex and age. Despite recent advances, multiple aspects still need to be addressed to fully understand how factors internal and external to the brain modulate the nervous system. Gaining insights into the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying these multifactorial interactions is crucial to getting a comprehensive overview of the field. Multidisciplinary studies, that combine approaches and areas that have not been previously explored together will pave the ground for future neuroscience research.
In this Research Topic, we are looking to address key aspects of the development and function of the nervous system from an integrative neuroscience perspective, to promote the discussion around this topic and facilitate knowledge dissemination.
Specifically, this Research Topic aims to:
i.) Highlight the limitations of a neurocentric approach while emphasizing the need for integrative studies and approaches in the field.
ii.) Compile emerging evidence of how factors intrinsic and extrinsic to the nervous system contribute to modulating the nervous system development and function, such as non-neuronal cells from the nervous system, different tissues, environmental factors, sex, and age, amongst others.
iii.) Describe novel methods developed to study inter-tissue interactions and their modulation of the brain.
iv.) Bring debate to the neuroscience community and provide perspectives from world-leading neuroscientists on emerging themes and new frontiers in the field.
We welcome the submission of review, perspective, original research, and methods articles providing a non-neurocentric angle on the following sub-topics applied to either the healthy, aging or diseased brain:
- Nutritional control of nervous system development and behavior.
- Interaction of the immune and nervous system (commensal and pathogen-related metabolites, neuroinflammation, etc.)
- Gut-brain axis and other metabolic interactions across tissues
- Glia-neuron crosstalk in energy homeostasis and signal transduction
- Role of non-neuronal cells and mechanical forces in nervous system assembly
- A holistic view of sexual cues (genetic and hormonal) in brain function
- Control of synaptic function, neural circuits, and behavior by non-neuronal peptides
- Cell diversity and plasticity in the brain
- Regulation of neural stem cell behavior by extrinsic factors (diet, circadian rhythms, inflammation, etc.)
- Non-neuronal cells as targets for tissue regeneration approaches
- Evolution of the nervous system
-Genetic and epigenetic regulation of the nervous system
![The lamellar cells of the Meissner and Pacinian corpuscles are mechanosensitive. (A) Schematic representation of a Grandry corpuscle found in a duck’s bill. The Grandry corpuscle in birds corresponds to the mammalian Meissner corpuscle. These corpuscles are 20–40 mm in diameter and 50–150 mm in length. The sensory afferent (purple) is surrounded by lamellar cells of Schwann cell origin (green) stacked like coins along the length of the corpuscle. A layer of satellite cells encapsulates both the lamellar cells and the afferent. (B) Mechanical stimulation, by application of a 3 μm indentation to the corpuscle, induces the activation of mechanically gated currents at different voltages in the lamellar cells. (C) The lamellar cells of the Grandry corpuscle express voltage gated Ca2+ and K+ channels and thus are capable of generating action potentials following stimulation with current injection or mechanical forces. (D) Schematic representation of afferent response to mechanical stimulation of the Grandry corpuscle. The afferent responds to application and removal of the mechanical stimulus by action potential firing (purple lines). The response is rapidly adapting; thus, no action potential is seen during the static portion of the indentation. (E) Schematic representation of the Herbst corpuscle in ducks. Herbst corpuscles are also found in the duck’s bill alongside the Grandy corpuscles. Herbst corpuscles in ducks are similar in size to Grandry corpuscles. However, the corresponding mammalian touch receptor, the Pacinian corpuscle, can reach 1 mm in length. (F) Mechanical stimulation of the Herbst corpuscle induces the activation of mechanically gated currents at different voltages in the lamellar cells. Note that the kinetics of the Herbst’s mechanically gated currents are different than those of the mechanically gated currents recorded from the Grandry corpuscles, suggesting differences in the underlying mechanosensitive channels. (G) The lamellar cells of the Herbst corpuscles do not express voltage-gated ion channels; thus, these cells do not fire action potentials when stimulated. (H) Herbst corpuscles are also rapidly adapting, so their afferents respond to mechanical stimulation by firing action potentials during application and removal of the mechanical stimulation [adapted from Nikolaev et al. (2020), Ziolkowski et al. (2022)].](https://www.frontiersin.org/_rtmag/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.frontiersin.org%2Ffiles%2FArticles%2F1367476%2Ffncel-18-1367476-HTML%2Fimage_m%2Ffncel-18-1367476-g003.jpg&w=3840&q=75)
