Environmental stress is widely recognized as one of the main risk factors for neuropsychiatric diseases, including mood and anxiety disorders. Stress, with the ensuing activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, deeply affects neurotransmission and synaptic morphology in brain areas associated with behavior and mental states. Clinical and preclinical studies have reported that the impact of stressful life events on the emotional and cognitive behavior may vary depending on the nature of stress and its intensity or duration, as well as the time window of development during which stress exposure occurs (perinatally, adolescence, adulthood, or ageing). Importantly, the many-sided faces of stress also depend on brain regions, sex, and individual differences. This multifaceted picture is integrated by the biphasic effect of stress that strictly depends on the duration of stress exposure. Indeed, while the fast response to stress includes plasticity enhancing effects associated with improved cognition, the long-term adaptive changes induced by stress, in particular following chronic stress, can be deleterious, leading to impaired function, enhanced susceptibility, or triggering of mood and anxiety disorders.

We invite investigators to contribute original research articles as well as review articles that highlight the multifaceted impact of stress and glucocorticoids on synaptic transmission, neuroplasticity, gene expression, cognition, and behavior. We are particularly interested in articles describing the time-dependent functional, cellular, morphological, and behavioral consequences of acute and chronic physical or psychological stress in brain areas involved in stress response, throughout lifespan. This special issue is intended to collect findings highlighting the idea that the understanding of the pathophysiology of stress-related pathologies (especially mood and anxiety disorders) must include an integrated approach, from the molecules to behavior, embracing the plasticity of the ever-changing brain in mammals.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Fast, delayed, and long-lasting effects of acute or chronic physical or psychological stress on neuronal plasticity, gene expression, and behavior
• Adaptive mechanisms induced by stress and their molecular underpinnings
• Impact of stress on neuroplasticity and behavior throughout lifespan (perinatally, adolescence, adulthood, or ageing)
• Epigenetic reprogramming induced by stress
• Individual susceptibility to stress
• Stress resilience and sex differences
• Peripheral versus central mediators of stress related neuronal plasticity in the brain