About this Research Topic

Background

Physiological integrity under stressful conditions depends on the recruitment of adaptive biological responses designed to avoid or to adjust to these circumstances. Although these events are immediately beneficial for the individual, chronic activation of stress-compensatory resources throughout the life-course are potentially damaging. For instance, during demanding situations, neuroplastic changes can be protective against cortisol-related excitotoxicity. Conversely, enduring stimulus to neuroplasticity may induce a decrease in neuroprotective factors, leading to reduction in synaptic number and function, and cortical atrophy. Moreover, increased release of pro-inflammatory cytokines due to prolonged metabolic stress may provoke impairment to neuronal insulin signaling and accelerate β-amyloid (Aβ) overproduction. Likewise, higher oxidative stress activity, associated with aging, genetics, and chronic metabolic insult, may disrupt epigenetic regulation mechanisms, favoring Aβ formation. These factors have been linked to the development of psychiatric conditions in late life, including mood disorders and Alzheimer’s Disease.

Aging is a complex phenomenon associated with increased risk of an array of diseases due to a combination of predisposition and 'wear and tear' on stress-compensatory physiological systems (allostatic load). Understanding the intricate relationships among endophenotypes, neuroplasticity and the occurrence of psychiatric disorders in late life would help fill in the gaps regarding the roles of genes and chronic stress in the pathophysiology of these conditions. It could allow the identification of targets for the effective prevention and treatment of highly disabling and distressful disorders that affect older populations, such as depression, anxiety, sleep abnormalities, and dementia. Therefore, the goal of this Research Topic is to collect studies that deal with these issues from different perspectives, including epidemiological, clinical, preclinical, experimental, and therapeutical, among other approaches.

We invite researchers to submit original studies, reviews, and case reports on themes such as (but not limited to) the following themes.
• Clinical correlates of chronic stress (including general medical or psychiatric conditions) with risk of psychiatric disorders in older populations.
• Epidemiological data on the association between chronic stress (including general medical or psychiatric conditions) and risk of psychiatric disorders in older populations.
• Effects of therapeutic strategies for chronic stress (including general medical or psychiatric conditions) on the occurrence and on the severity of psychiatric disorders throughout aging and in older populations.
• Clinical and preclinical data on the association between neuroplasticity and psychiatric disorders throughout aging and in older populations.
• Clinical and preclinical data on the association between endophenotypes and the risk of psychiatric disorders along the aging process and in the older populations.

Keywords: neuroplasticity, aging, genetics, endophenotypes, stress

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.

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