Exploring the Gut-Brain Axis
Exploring the Gut-Brain Axis
Implications for Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders
– Mechanisms, Biomarkers, and Emerging Therapies
Handling editors
Prof. Masaru Tanaka
Department of Neurology, University of Szeged; Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Hungary
ORCID: 0000-0002-0067-6073 | tanaka.masaru.1@med.u-szeged.hu
Prof. Jerzy Leszek
Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Wroclaw Medical University, Poland
ORCID: 0000-0002-2316-2470 | jerzy.leszek@umw.edu.pl
Prof. Iwona Bil-Lula
Division of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Hematology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Wroclaw Medical University, Poland
ORCID: 0000-0002-2769-0166 | iwona.bil-lula@umw.edu.pl
Assoc. Prof. Bartłomiej Stańczykiewicz (Division of Consultation Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Wroclaw Medical University, Poland; ORCID 0000-0001-9221-3502) bartlomiej.stanczykiewicz@umw.edu.pl
Dr. Monika Bielecka (Department of Pharmaceutical Biology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Wroclaw Medical University, Poland; ORCID 0000-0002-0067-6073) monika.bielecka@umw.edu.pl
Dr. Nasrollah Moradikor
Brain Aging and Dementia Group, Division of Neuroscience, Institute for Intelligent Research, Tbilisi, Georgia
ORCID: 0000-0001-9905-6845 | moradikor@neuroscience.edu.ge
Outline
The gut–brain axis represents a rapidly evolving frontier in medicine, shedding new light on how gut microbiota and their metabolites influence brain development, function, and disease. Its importance is increasingly recognized across neuroscience, psychiatry, immunology, endocrinology, and translational medicine.
This special issue of Advances in Clinical and Experimental Medicine seeks to consolidate high-impact, novel research that advances our mechanistic and clinical understanding of gut–brain crosstalk, with a particular focus on its relevance for neurological and psychiatric disorders. We welcome interdisciplinary submissions that go beyond descriptive associations and offer insights into molecular mechanisms, predictive biomarkers, sex-specific effects, response to therapy, and new avenues for clinical intervention.
Suggested thematic areas
Authors are encouraged to submit original research, meta-analyses, or systematic/scoping reviews related to (but not limited to) the following areas of interest:
- Microbiota and neurodevelopment: Mechanistic and clinical studies on how gut microbes influence brain development, connectivity, and vulnerability to disorders like ASD and ADHD.
- Gut dysbiosis in psychiatric disorders: Novel links between altered microbial composition and psychiatric conditions such as depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder.
- Molecular communication pathways: Exploration of immune, endocrine, vagal, and epigenetic mechanisms mediating gut–brain signaling beyond known metabolic routes.
- Sex-specific differences in the gut–brain axis: Studies focusing on gender-related variations in microbiota composition, signaling, and effects on neuropsychiatric trajectories.
- Microbiota–drug interactions: How gut microbes influence drug metabolism, therapeutic response, and treatment tolerability in psychiatric patients.
- AI and computational modeling: Predictive modeling of brain disorders or treatment outcomes based on microbiome and host data using artificial intelligence.
- COVID-19 and post-viral neuropsychiatric sequelae: Investigations into the role of gut dysbiosis in persistent cognitive and mood symptoms following COVID-19 and similar infections.
- Microbiome-based therapies: Evaluation of targeted interventions - such as psychobiotics, prebiotics, dietary patterns, and FMT – in mental health care.
- Metabolomic profiling: Identification of gut-derived bioactive compounds that modulate brain function via neurotransmitter or hormonal pathways.
- Gut barrier integrity and neuroinflammation: Role of increased intestinal permeability and systemic inflammation in dementia, mood disorders, and neurodegeneration.
- Translational and clinical studies: Implementation research, including clinical trials, safety data, treatment biomarkers, and regulatory perspectives.
Submission process
Authors should first submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) with a working title and structured abstract of the proposed original article or review to the managing editor: marek.misiak@umw.edu.pl. All EOIs will be reviewed by the Guest Editors and Editor-in-Chief, and selected authors will be invited to submit full manuscripts via the standard ACEM editorial platform.
All accepted papers will undergo full peer review by at least two independent reviewers.
Timeline
- Expression of Interest deadline: December 31, 2025
- Invitation for full paper submission: by February 28, 2026
- Full manuscript submission deadline: June 30, 2026
Article processing charges apply as per the standard policy:
https://advances.umw.edu.pl/en/article-processing-charges
In exceptional cases (e.g., outstanding invited submissions), fees may be reduced or waived.
We look forward to receiving your contributions and curating a high-quality, globally relevant special issue that will shape the next decade of research on the gut–brain axis in clinical medicine.
Advances in Clinical and Experimental Medicine – bridging bench, bedside, and implementation!