Table of Contents

EDITORIAL

Medication-induced sterol disruption: An overlooked threat to brain development and public health 1

Julio Licinio

INNOVATORS & IDEAS: RISING STARS

Munir Gunes Kutlu: Exploring the neural mechanisms of learning and social behaviors – A scientist's journey and perspective 4

Munir Gunes Kutlu

Alessandra Borsini: What neuroinflammation has to do with depression and how nutrition can play a beneficial role 8

Alessandra Borsini

INNOVATORS & IDEAS: RESEARCH LEADERS

Udo Dannlowski: Brain structure and function in the long-term course of mental disorders 11

Udo Dannlowski

Vicki L. Clifton: Stress, sex, and the placenta: its role in fetal and child development 14

Vicki L. Clifton

Euripedes C. Miguel: Risk factors for obsessive-compulsive and other mental health disorders and their treatment and public policy implications 18

Euripedes C. Miguel

Annamaria Cattaneo: Three main questions: Stress, mental, and physical health: Is the gut microbiome the key? Which are the biological mechanisms driving perinatal depression, and how do they affect the mental and physical health of the offspring? Pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions in reducing the risk of developing mood disorders or in improving symptomatology: Is inflammation the key driver? 22

Annamaria Cattaneo

Celso Arango: The future of psychiatry inevitably depends on primary prevention 26

Celso Arango

INNOVATORS & IDEAS: ACADEMIC LEADERS

Nancy Jane Rothwell: Brain inflammation and the path to leadership 29

Nancy Rothwell

PERSPECTIVE

Sterol biosynthesis disruption by common prescription medications: critical implications for neural development and brain health 32

Željka Korade and Károly Mirnics

THOUGHT LEADERS INVITED REVIEW

CD2AP in Alzheimer's disease: Key mechanisms and therapeutic potential 38

Yong Wang and Yun-wu Zhang

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Maternal immune activation impairs hippocampal pyramidal neuron excitability in newborn rat offspring: Implications for neurodevelopmental disorders 46

Lucia Moravcikova, Roman Moravcik … Eliyahu Dremencov

RESEARCH REPORT

Manic symptoms in schizophrenia spectrum disorders 53

E.M. Tsapakis, D. Paitaridou … K.N. Fountoulakis

Cover Art

A conceptual visualization depicting the impact of maternal immune activation on hippocampal neuron development. A laboratory rat is shown holding a transparent model of a brain with visible neural pathways, symbolizing the relationship between maternal infection during pregnancy and altered neuronal excitability in offspring. The warm amber tones of the rat contrast with the translucent pink-hued brain model, representing the delicate balance of neurotransmission affected by prenatal immune challenges. The ethereal glow extending from the brain highlights the glutamatergic pathways particularly vulnerable to maternal immune activation, with connections illustrated flowing into crucial hippocampal regions. This image reflects the findings presented in “Maternal immune activation impairs hippocampal pyramidal neuron excitability in newborn rat offspring: Implications for neurodevelopmental disorders” by Lucia Moravcikova et al. on pages 46-52 in this issue.

Cover design generated through extensive and iterative human-AI collaboration using Claude by Anthropic and Grok (created by xAI) AI assistants. The final cover is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). This cover may be reproduced without permission under the terms of this license, provided appropriate credit is given to Genomic Press and the content is not modified or used for commercial purposes.

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