Neuroimaging and Rehabilitation Mechanisms in Mood, Anxiety and Stress-related disorders

Mood, anxiety and stress-related disorders, including major depressive disorder, generalized and social anxiety disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), represent a significant global burden. While pharmacological and psychological interventions remain the mainstay of treatment, the brain-network mechanisms that distinguish responders from non-responders, and first-episode from recurrent illness, are still not fully understood. Advances in multimodal magnetic resonance imaging, including resting-state and task-based fMRI, diffusion MRI (diffusion tensor imaging, DTI and diffusion spectrum imaging, DSI), and structural MRI, have opened new windows into how large-scale brain networks reorganize during the progression and remission of psychiatric symptoms. In parallel, targeted rehabilitation approaches such as cognitive remediation and mindfulness-based therapies, real-time fMRI neurofeedback, and pharmacological neuromodulation are showing promise in promoting network-level plasticity and functional recovery.

This Research Topic aims to bridge the gap between MRI-based biomarkers and rehabilitation mechanisms in mood, anxiety and stress-related disorders. We invite original research, large-cohort consortium studies, longitudinal analyses, methodological papers, and systematic reviews that explore how multimodal MRI can inform, predict, or evaluate recovery trajectories. Key areas of interest include, but are not limited to:
1. Network-level neural correlates of recovery and treatment resistance using resting-state fMRI and structural / diffusion MRI.
2. Longitudinal MRI studies tracking brain network reorganization during and after rehabilitation interventions.
3. Distinctions between first-episode and recurrent illness, and between remitted and actively symptomatic states, in mood and anxiety disorders.
4. Multimodal imaging approaches combining fMRI, DTI / DSI and structural MRI to decode plasticity mechanisms.
5. Machine learning and AI-based models integrating multimodal MRI data for personalized, prognostic rehabilitation strategies.
6. Imaging-genetics approaches linking gene-expression and individual genetic profiles to brain structural / functional change during recovery.
7. MRI predictors of relapse, suicidality, and long-term functional outcomes in remitted patients.
8. The influence of individual characteristics (demographic, clinical, genetic) and cross-cohort effects on treatment response and rehabilitation outcomes.

By bringing together cutting-edge MRI research across mood, anxiety and stress-related disorders, this Topic seeks to foster a mechanistic understanding of how brain networks recover from psychiatric illness. Such insights will inform more targeted, neurobiologically-grounded rehabilitation protocols and ultimately improve outcomes for individuals living with these conditions.

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
• 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
• Clinical Trial
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Review
• Study Protocol
• Systematic Review

Keywords: Rehabilitation Mechanisms, Neuroimaging Biomarkers, Mental Health Disorders, Neural Plasticity, Biomarkers

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.