Role of Microbiota in Neurocognitive Disorders: A Developmental Origin Perspective, Volume II

This Research Topic is part of the Role of Microbiota in Neurocognitive Disorders: A Developmental Origin Perspective series: Volume I.

The microbiota plays surprising roles in brain development and human behavior along with angiogenesis. C. albicans, for example, has the ability to activate epithelial Mitogen-Activated-Protein-Kinase (MAPK) and Extracellular signal-Regulated Kinase (ERK) signaling pathways, which both play a role in tissue growth, loss of E-cadherin and occludin, and thus activation of angiogenesis. Nevertheless, there is a limited understanding of the role of the microbiota and its associated dysbiosis in the biology of neurocognitive disorders as well as in the predisposition to cognitive decline, dementia, and the progression of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease. Through the new paradigm of the developmental origins of health and disease, the microbial exposures during the highly plastic period of early life, when the human microbiome is seeded including the microbiota and the mycobiota, can program the individual risk of developing chronic diseases later in life including neurocognitive disorders.

While the microbiota, especially the mycobiome, could be one of the key factors to consider in the prevention and/or improvement of neurocognitive disorders, especially from this developmental point of view, further research is still needed, and the first step towards this goal is to establish consensus methodologies and to facilitate comparative analysis between different studies. This Research Topic aims to advance understanding of the role of the microbiota, particularly the mycobiome, in neurocognitive disorders from a developmental origin perspective.

Studies characterizing the human microbiota, especially the mycobiome, the metabolites it produces, its metagenome, and host proteins during human development could shed light on its role in the identification and prediction of chronic diseases including neurocognitive and behavioral disorders. Different methodological approaches could be used ranging from original articles and reviews to experimental studies and studies based on machine learning and artificial intelligence approaches. We welcome contributions addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:

• The role of the microbiota, mycobiota, and dysbiosis in neurocognitive and behavioral disorders
• Microbial exposures during early life and the developmental origins of chronic disease
• Microbiota and mycobiome characterization, including metagenomics
• Microbiota-derived metabolites and host proteins during human development
• The identification and prediction of cognitive decline, dementia, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and related disorders
• Consensus methodologies, comparative analyses, experimental studies, machine learning, and artificial intelligence approaches

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

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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
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: developmental disorders, dysbiosis, metagenomics, mycobiota, neurocognition, microbiota, neurodegeneration, dementia

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.