Beyond Symptoms: How Brain Imaging is Revolutionizing Early Mental Health Disorders

Dear Colleagues,

Brain imaging techniques like MRI are offering a new approach to understanding early mental illness. Researchers are looking for structural and functional abnormalities in the brain that might signal the onset or the risk of disorders like depression or schizophrenia. While MRI cannot diagnose definitively yet, it holds promise for earlier detection, improved diagnosis through combined methods, and even the development of targeted treatments.

A key area of research is identifying brain-based biomarkers. These are measurable indicators of the illness that could provide a more objective way to diagnose and track its progression. This could lead to personalized treatment plans for individuals at the earliest stages. Challenges remain, such as natural variations in brain structure and the accessibility of MRI scans. However, brain imaging is a rapidly evolving field with the potential to revolutionize our understanding and management of early mental illness.

This Special Issue aims to explore the burgeoning field of brain imaging in the context of early detection, diagnosis, and treatment of mental illness. We focus on the transformative potential of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and other techniques to identify brain-based biomarkers for early recognition of psychiatric disorders.

This Special Issue solicits original research papers that explore the use of brain imaging techniques, particularly MRI, in the realm of early detection, diagnosis, and personalized treatment of mental illness. Here is a breakdown of the kinds of papers we are looking for:

• MRI and advanced techniques: Research that utilizes novel MRI methods to identify structural or functional abnormalities in the brains of individuals at risk for or in the early stages of mental illness.
• Biomarker-focused research: Studies that delve into discovering and validating brain-based biomarkers as objective tools for diagnosing and monitoring treatment responses in mental illness.
• Multi-modal approaches: Research that combines MRI with other diagnostic tools (e.g., psychological tests and genetic analysis) to improve the accuracy and comprehensiveness of mental health diagnoses.
• Personalized medicine: Studies that explore the potential of MRI and biomarkers to tailor treatment plans for individual patients based on their specific brain signatures and illness presentation.
• Challenges and future directions: Research that addresses the limitations of current methods (e.g., natural brain variations and the accessibility of MRI scans) and proposes innovative solutions or future research directions to overcome these hurdles.

Dr. Annarita Vignapiano
Dr. Francesco Monaco
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. Brain Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). 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.

• early-stage mental illness
• brain imaging
• MRI
• biomarkers
• personalized treatment