Parkinson’s disease (PD), historically recognized as a motor disorder, is now widely acknowledged to encompass a broad spectrum of non-motor symptoms that significantly affect patients’ quality of life. Among these, neuropsychiatric symptoms—including depression, anxiety, apathy, psychosis, impulse control disorders, and cognitive impairment—are prevalent across all disease stages and may even precede motor symptoms. These manifestations are often under-recognized, under-treated, and poorly understood despite their profound impact on disease burden and caregiver stress.
The neurobiological underpinnings of neuropsychiatric symptoms in PD remain incompletely characterized. Evidence suggests the involvement of complex interactions among dopaminergic, serotonergic, noradrenergic, and cholinergic dysfunctions, as well as disruptions in corticostriatal and limbic circuits, neuroinflammation, and aberrant connectivity patterns. Genetic vulnerability, environmental factors, and comorbid sleep or autonomic disturbances may further modulate symptom expression and progression. Moreover, treatment approaches are often extrapolated from idiopathic psychiatric disorders and do not account for the unique pathophysiology of PD.
This Research Topic seeks to advance mechanistic insights, diagnostic approaches, and therapeutic strategies for neuropsychiatric symptoms in Parkinson’s disease. By assembling original research and authoritative reviews, the initiative aims to foster interdisciplinary dialogue and delineate critical knowledge gaps within this underexplored yet clinically significant domain.
We welcome submissions that explore the phenomenology, neurobiology, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of neuropsychiatric symptoms in Parkinson’s disease. Studies may be preclinical, clinical, or translational, and may focus on isolated symptoms or syndromes, their interaction with motor or autonomic features, or the impact of therapeutic interventions.
Relevant topics include, but are not limited to:
- Depression, anxiety, and apathy in Parkinson’s disease
- Psychosis and hallucinations, including early-onset and medication-induced forms
- Impulse control disorders and dopamine dysregulation syndrome
- Cognitive decline, executive dysfunction, and mild cognitive impairment
- Prodromal psychiatric features in Parkinson’s disease and Parkinson-plus syndromes
- Neuroimaging, CSF, EEG, or omics biomarkers associated with neuropsychiatric symptoms
- Longitudinal and phenotypic studies of neuropsychiatric progression
- Neuroinflammation, neurotransmitter imbalance, and connectomic alterations
- Impact of deep brain stimulation or pharmacological interventions on neuropsychiatric symptoms
- Multimodal approaches to treatment (e.g., psychotherapy, digital health, neuromodulation)
- Patient-centered, caregiver, and quality-of-life perspectives
Article types and fees
This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:
Brief Research Report
Case Report
Clinical Trial
Conceptual Analysis
Data Report
Editorial
FAIR² Data
FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
Hypothesis and Theory
Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.
Article types
This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:
Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
