Pathfinders and Pioneers in Cellular Neuroscience: From Bioelectricity to the Next Generation

"Pathfinders and Pioneers in Cellular Neuroscience" is a a flagship collection led by the journal's Field Chief Editors, designed to highlight foundational ideas, conceptual breakthroughs, and emerging paradigms that have shaped — and continue to redefine — cellular neuroscience.

Rather than focusing on specific diseases, cell types, brain regions, or techniques, this collection brings together authoritative mini-reviews from leading researchers whose work has opened new directions for the field. Contributors are invited to reflect on core mechanisms, unifying principles, and transformative insights that cut across cellular neurophysiology, cellular neuropathology, and non-neuronal cell biology.

The collection welcomes contributions both from pioneers reflecting on their own foundational work, and from authors offering critical perspectives on the work and legacy of such pioneers. In parallel, to keep the collection forward-looking, we are opening the discussion to rising stars and early-career researchers whose emerging work is positioned to shape the next generation of foundational ideas in cellular neuroscience.

The aim is to capture where the field has been, where it is now, and where it is going, by distilling complex bodies of work into conceptual frameworks that will serve as reference points for researchers, educators, and trainees alike.

Articles in this collection emphasize: (not limited to)
• Generalizable cellular principles rather than narrow findings
• Mechanistic depth with broad cross-section relevance
• Integration across neurons, glia, and other non-neuronal cells
• Impact of cellular properties on network and brain functions
•Critical open questions and future directions that define the next frontiers of cellular neuroscience
•Bioelectrical and biophysical principles that unify excitable cells across neurons, glia, muscle, and other tissues
•Historical and conceptual foundations — how landmark discoveries (e.g. Volta and bioelectricity) still shape today's cellular neuroscience
•Perspectives on the legacy of pioneers, alongside fresh contributions from rising stars extending that legacy

As part of this collection, and marking the bicentennial of Alessandro Volta’s death (1827–2027), we welcome contributions that trace the bioelectrical and biophysical foundations on which cellular neuroscience rests. The bicentennial celebrations provide a unique opportunity to highlight Volta’s fundamental contributions to physics: from his work on electricity grew the physiology of excitable tissues and, ultimately, our understanding of the excitable cell — the neuron. Reflecting these shared roots, this collection is inviting perspectives that connect cellular neurophysiology with membrane biophysics, the physiology of excitable tissues, and the physical principles of bioelectric signaling — while remaining anchored in cellular neuroscience. Contributions must retain a clear cellular-neuroscience anchor: physiology and physics perspectives are welcome insofar as they illuminate the excitable cell and its bioelectrical mechanisms.

2026 also marks 120 years since Camillo Golgi and Santiago Ramón y Cajal won the Nobel Prize for discovering neurons and the nervous system’s fine structure, and since both Volta and Golgi were professors at the University of Pavia, this year’s FEPS meeting in Italy holds special relevance, with Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience marking their legacy through dedicated publications in this collection.

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
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• ... 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
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review
• Specialty Grand Challenge
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Pathfinders, Pioneers, Cellular Neuroscience, Flagship Collection, Foundational Ideas, Conceptual Breakthroughs, Emerging Paradigms, Mini-Reviews, Core Mechanisms, Unifying Principles, Transformative Insights, Cellular Neurophysiology, Cellular Neuropatho, Bioelectricity, Excitable tissues, Membrane biophysics, Electrophysiology, Volta bicentennial, History of neuroscience, Rising stars, Early-career researchers, Cellular Neuropathology.

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.