A growing number of studies have shown that non-drug treatments for neurodegenerative diseases can be considered as potential rehabilitation approaches, especially deep brain stimulation and advances in optogenetic technology, which provide a new perspective for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.

Neural circuits and synaptic plasticity play important roles in the altered processing of information in neurodegenerative diseases. Pathological changes in synaptic plasticity impair synaptic computation, which controls the information flow through the neural circuits responsible for the complex information processing necessary to drive adaptive behaviours. On a molecular level, modifications in the neuronal epigenome mediate gene-environmental interactions, which are required for activity-dependent regulation of neural circuits and synaptic plasticity. Therefore, neural circuits, synaptic plasticity, and epigenetic mechanisms play important roles in the pathogenesis and therapeutic targets of neurodegenerative diseases from macro- to micro-levels.

The aim of this Special Issue is to collate a range of clinical research and experimental studies on the role of neural circuits, synaptic plasticity, and epigenetic mechanisms in relation to non-drug treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. We also welcome high-level reviews on the mechanisms of non-drug treatments for neurodegenerative diseases.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• Multimodal neuroimaging of non-invasive neuromodulation for neurodegenerative diseases
• Neural circuits and synaptic plasticity of non-invasive neuromodulation
• Epigenetic mechanisms of non-invasive neuromodulation
• Multimodal neuroimaging of invasive neuromodulation
• Neural circuits and synaptic plasticity of invasive neuromodulation
• Epigenetic mechanisms of invasive neuromodulation
• Multimodal neuroimaging of exercise for neurodegenerative diseases
• Neural circuits and synaptic plasticity of exercise
• Epigenetic mechanisms of exercise
• Multimodal neuroimaging of cognitive training for neurodegenerative diseases
• Neural circuits and synaptic plasticity of cognitive training
• Epigenetic mechanisms of cognitive training