Neural Plasticity

Neural Plasticity in Obesity and Psychiatric Disorders


Publishing date
11 Dec 2015
Status
Published
Submission deadline
24 Jul 2015

1Australian National University, Canberra, Australia

2National Human Genome Research Institute, Bethesda, USA

3Monash University, Melbourne, Australia

4George Washington University, Washington, USA


Neural Plasticity in Obesity and Psychiatric Disorders

Description

The global burden of obesity and psychiatric disorders imposes some of the greatest challenges to the healthcare systems of the world. These pathological conditions result from a combination of genetic and environmental factors. For instance, obesity and depression have an approximate heritability of 50% and are negatively affected by chronic stress, neuroendocrine and metabolic disorders, sedentary lifestyle, poor-quality diet, and excessive consumption of alcohol and other drugs of abuse. Interestingly, there is evidence suggesting a bidirectional negative interaction between these two pathological conditions.

Remarkably, recent evidence suggests that obesity and psychiatric disorders can reshape the brain. Whereas the hippocampus is a major brain area associated with mood and memory, the hypothalamus is the essential neuroendocrine region that controls food intake and energy expenditure. Previous research has shown that depressive behavior decreases adult hippocampal neurogenesis and that antidepressant use prevents this decrease. Also, recent evidence has shown that the adult hypothalamus can undergo neurogenesis and neurodegeneration. There are common neuroinflammatory processes and cellular mechanisms occurring within different areas of the brain during obesity and psychiatric disorders. Thus, brain plasticity changes occurring during either obesity or psychiatric conditions could potentially expand the knowledge of both fields.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Environmental factors affecting neural plasticity: impact of diet, exercise, neuroendocrine imbalance, gut microbiota, microbial infections, stress, chemical disruptors, and drugs of abuse
  • Genetic variants associated with neural plasticity
  • Molecular mechanisms involved in adult neurogenesis: role of inflammatory mediators, growth factors, microRNAs and other epigenetic, and cellular and/or molecular pathways
  • The updating of imaging studies to assess neural plasticity
  • Possible novel brain areas undergoing neural plasticity
  • Preclinical models of obesity/psychiatric conditions-induced neural plasticity

Articles

  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2016
  • - Article ID 6053871
  • - Editorial

Neural Plasticity in Obesity and Psychiatric Disorders

Mauricio Arcos-Burgos | Maria T. Acosta | ... | Claudio A. Mastronardi
  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2016
  • - Article ID 2473081
  • - Review Article

Obesity Reduces Cognitive and Motor Functions across the Lifespan

Chuanming Wang | John S. Y. Chan | ... | Jin H. Yan
  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2016
  • - Article ID 9760314
  • - Research Article

A Mutation in DAOA Modifies the Age of Onset in PSEN1 E280A Alzheimer’s Disease

Jorge I. Vélez | Dora Rivera | ... | Mauricio Arcos-Burgos
  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2016
  • - Article ID 8528934
  • - Review Article

The Effects of Leptin Replacement on Neural Plasticity

Gilberto J. Paz-Filho
  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2016
  • - Article ID 9485079
  • - Research Article

History of Illicit Stimulant Use Is Not Associated with Long-Lasting Changes in Learning of Fine Motor Skills in Humans

Gabrielle Todd | Verity Pearson-Dennett | ... | Jason M. White
  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2016
  • - Article ID 7971460
  • - Review Article

Deep Brain Stimulation for Obesity: From a Theoretical Framework to Practical Application

Raj K. Nangunoori | Nestor D. Tomycz | ... | Donald M. Whiting
  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2016
  • - Article ID 7385314
  • - Research Article

A High-Fat Diet Causes Impairment in Hippocampal Memory and Sex-Dependent Alterations in Peripheral Metabolism

Erica L. Underwood | Lucien T. Thompson
  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2016
  • - Article ID 6851592
  • - Research Article

Influence of Genetic Variants of the N-Methyl-D-Aspartate Receptor on Emotion and Social Behavior in Adolescents

Li-Ching Lee | Ying-Chun Cho | ... | Ting-Kuang Yeh
  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2015
  • - Article ID 627837
  • - Research Article

Repeated Three-Hour Maternal Separation Induces Depression-Like Behavior and Affects the Expression of Hippocampal Plasticity-Related Proteins in C57BL/6N Mice

Yaoyao Bian | Lili Yang | ... | Guihua Xu
Neural Plasticity
 Journal metrics
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Acceptance rate12%
Submission to final decision134 days
Acceptance to publication26 days
CiteScore5.700
Journal Citation Indicator0.610
Impact Factor3.1
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