Neonatal Brain Injury and Long-Term Neurodevelopmental Outcomes: From Early Prediction to Lifelong Care

Neonatal brain injury remains a major cause of mortality and long-term neurodevelopmental impairment worldwide. Conditions such as hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, prematurity-related brain injury, intraventricular hemorrhage, periventricular leukomalacia, neonatal stroke, and central nervous system infections can have lasting effects on cognitive, motor, behavioral, and functional development. As advances in neonatal intensive care continue to improve survival rates, increasing attention has shifted toward understanding and optimizing long-term outcomes for affected infants.

Predicting neurodevelopmental trajectories following neonatal brain injury remains a significant clinical challenge. While some infants experience favorable developmental outcomes, others develop cerebral palsy, learning disabilities, neurocognitive impairment, epilepsy, or behavioral disorders that may not become fully apparent until later childhood. Early identification of infants at highest risk is therefore essential to facilitate timely interventions and individualized follow-up strategies.

Recent advances in neuroimaging, neurophysiological monitoring, biomarker discovery, artificial intelligence, and developmental assessment tools have improved the ability to characterize neonatal brain injury and estimate future outcomes. At the same time, growing evidence supports the importance of structured follow-up programs, early rehabilitation, family-centered care, and multidisciplinary approaches to optimize developmental trajectories across childhood and adolescence. However, important questions remain regarding prognostic accuracy, implementation of emerging technologies, access to long-term follow-up services, and the translation of research findings into routine clinical practice.

This Research Topic aims to bring together clinicians, researchers, and healthcare professionals working across neonatology, pediatric neurology, developmental medicine, rehabilitation, neuroscience, and public health to explore current advances in the prediction, monitoring, and management of long-term outcomes following neonatal brain injury. By integrating clinical, translational, and population-based perspectives, the collection seeks to improve understanding of developmental trajectories and identify evidence-based strategies that support affected children and their families throughout the life course.

We welcome submissions addressing topics including, but not limited to:

• Long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes following neonatal brain injury

• Prognostic biomarkers and risk stratification approaches

• Advances in neonatal neuroimaging and neurophysiological assessment

• Artificial intelligence and predictive models for developmental outcomes

• Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, prematurity-related brain injury, neonatal stroke, and other neurological conditions

• Early intervention, rehabilitation, and developmental support strategies

• Family-centered care and caregiver outcomes

• Multidisciplinary follow-up programs and models of care

• Cognitive, behavioral, motor, and educational outcomes across childhood

• Health services research and implementation of long-term follow-up pathways

• Global perspectives and disparities in access to neurodevelopmental care

• Translational research aimed at improving lifelong outcomes after neonatal brain injury

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
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• ... 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
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review
• Study Protocol
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Neonatal Neurocritical Care, Neonatal Neurology, Preterm Brain Injury, Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy, Neonatal Neuroimaging

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.