Dysfunctional Neural Circuits and Impairments in Brain Function

Dear Colleagues,

We would like to invite researchers to submit their original research articles, reviews, and perspectives to our upcoming special issue on "Dysfunctional Neural Circuits and Impairments in Brain Function". This issue will explore the latest advances in understanding the link between abnormal neural circuits and neuropsychiatric disorders, developmental impairments, and cognitive deficits. It is increasingly recognized that some neuropsychiatric disorders, especially developmental diseases like Autism Spectrum Disorder and Schizophrenia, as well as some types of dementia such as Alzheimer's disease, are caused by dysfunctions in neural circuit activity. Therefore, it is important to capture the dynamics of neural circuits at both the local and whole brain levels. The issue welcomes papers that also investigate the toxicological effects of drugs and environmental factors that can cause malfunction of brain activity. We welcome submissions covering a range of topics related to the subject, including the underlying mechanisms of neural circuit dysfunction, clinical implications for diagnosis and treatment, and technical approaches for capturing neural circuit dysfunction. In particular, we encourage authors to submit technical papers that deal with optical recording and other comprehensive methods for measuring neural circuit function. We encourage authors to submit their work early to ensure ample time for peer review and timely publication. We believe that this special issue will make a significant contribution to the field of neuroscience and lead to new approaches for diagnosing and treating a wide range of cognitive impairments.

Prof. Dr. Takashi Tominaga
Prof. Dr. Ichiro Takashima
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• neural circuits
• dysfunctional circuits
• neuropsychiatric disorders
• optical recording
• voltage-sensitive dyes
• genetically encoded optical indicators
• local brain activity
• whole brain activity
• cognitive impairments
• behavioral test