Enhancing Brain Health: Physical, Cognitive, and Nutritional Interventions

Brain health reflects the dynamic interplay of neural development, plasticity, and resilience across the lifespan. Emerging evidence shows that physical activity, cognitive engagement, and nutritional status each exert powerful, and often synergistic, effects on brain structure and function. These influences extend from early neurodevelopment through healthy ageing, and shape vulnerability to neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative conditions. At the same time, environmental exposures, genetic background, and lifestyle factors interact in complex ways that remain incompletely understood. Within clinical neuroscience, there is a growing need to clarify how targeted interventions in these domains can promote optimal nervous system development, preserve cognitive function, and mitigate disease risk. This Research Topic will integrate mechanistic, translational, and clinical research to delineate how physical, cognitive, and nutritional interventions can enhance brain health.



This Research Topic aims to address a central challenge in brain health and clinical neuroscience: how to design, personalize, and implement physical, cognitive, and nutritional interventions that meaningfully improve nervous system function and clinical outcomes across the lifespan. Although many individual strategies (e.g., exercise, cognitive training, dietary modification) show promise, robust evidence on their mechanisms, optimal dosing, and effectiveness in diverse populations and neuropsychiatric conditions is still limited.



We seek contributions that move beyond descriptive associations to elucidate causal pathways, identify biomarkers of intervention response, and clarify how genetic, developmental, and environmental factors shape efficacy. By bringing together fundamental, translational, and clinical studies, this Research Topic aims to: (i) advance mechanistic understanding of how these interventions affect neural systems; (ii) inform prevention and treatment strategies for neuropsychiatric and other brain-related disorders; and (iii) support evidence-based guidelines that promote brain health and well-being throughout life.



This Research Topic welcomes original research, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, brief reports. Submissions should focus on human brain development, function, or disorders, and clearly link physical, cognitive, or nutritional interventions to neural or cognitive outcomes. Multimodal and interdisciplinary work is particularly encouraged.



Contributions may address, but are not limited to:



• Physical activity and exercise interventions and their neural mechanisms

• Cognitive training, enrichment, or rehabilitation across the lifespan

• Nutritional, dietary, and metabolic interventions with documented brain effects

• Interactions between genetic factors, environment, and lifestyle interventions

• Application of interventions to neuropsychiatric or neurodevelopmental conditions

• Combined or multimodal intervention strategies targeting brain health

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
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• ... View all formats

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:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Clinical Trial
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review
• Study Protocol
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: brain health, physical activity, cognitive engagement, nutritional interventions, neural mechanisms, neuropsychiatric conditions, brain development, cognitive training, multimodal interventions, clinical neuroscience

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.