Nutritional Modulation of Brain Health and Disease

This Research Topic advances a molecular neuroscience framework to dissect how defined dietary components and their bioactive metabolites serve as dynamic regulators of brain function and resilience. By integrating metabolism, epigenetics, immunology, and systems biology, we aim to delineate causal mechanisms through which nutritional signals shape the trajectories of neurodegenerative diseases—including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and related dementias—as well as neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric conditions characterized by altered excitability, such as epilepsy, autism spectrum disorders, and age-associated cognitive decline.

We posit that nutrients act not only as metabolic substrates but also as signaling entities that can reprogram neuronal and glial phenotypes across multiple regulatory layers.

We invite studies that define how dietary inputs modulate brain physiology through an integrated axis linking cellular metabolism, epigenomic regulation, and neuroimmune function. Priority areas include:

o Nutrient-sensing pathways that preserve synaptic integrity and proteostasis;

o Bioenergetic and membrane-associated processes governing neuronal excitability and network stability;

o Metabolic regulation of glial activation states and neuroinflammatory cascades;

o Dietary influences on one carbon metabolism and methylation cycles impacting chromatin architecture and transcriptional programs;

o Remodeling of membrane composition and signaling microdomains affecting neurotransmission and plasticity;

o Gut-derived metabolites modulating blood–brain barrier dynamics, immune crosstalk, and epigenetic landscapes within the central nervous system.

We particularly encourage investigations employing multi-omics integration, metabolic flux analysis, advanced imaging, causal inference or network modeling, and translational or interventional designs. Our goal is to move beyond correlative associations toward mechanistic resolution of how nutrition shapes brain resilience in aging, neurodegeneration, epilepsy, and cognitive disorders—establishing a foundation for targeted, biologically informed dietary therapeutics.

We look forward to building a robust platform for pioneering studies bridging nutritional science and molecular neuroscience, ultimately informing the development of precision nutrition strategies for brain health.