Call for Papers
Adaptive plasticity following acquired brain injuries
Submission Deadline: Tuesday, 30 December 2025
Acute brain injury acquired i.e. by ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke, traumatic brain injury, infections or acute intoxications results in loss brain functionality due to acute cell loss predominantly in the affected neuronal tracts and circuits. However, neurological deficits are also due to dysfunction of remaining neurons in the vicinity to or in areas remote from the affected brain regions connected through brain-wide neural networks.
Following injury, the affected neuronal networks are considered as neuronal substrate for recovery promoting therapies modulating mechanisms of brain plasticity, i.e. the innate ability of the brain to remodel neuronal function comprising the ability of the brain to reorganize its cellular structures and its function in response to intrinsic and extrinsic stimuli. These processes integrate molecular and cellular mechanisms that do not only contribute to cell survival but also foremost modulate neuronal function, a key element to enhance plasticity.
This call for a special issue in Neuroprotection aims at seeking research reports as well as overview and review articles providing new insights into this so far less explored field understanding adaptive plasticity in models of acute brain injury on the molecular, cellular and systemic level of high relevance for the development of future rehabilitation strategies.
Topics of interest for this call for papers include but are not restricted to:
- Characterization of cell-to-cell interactions, i.e. different neuron populations, to modulate brain plasticity;
- Mechanisms of delayed and selective neuronal cell death and survival that modulate long-term brain plasticity;
- Impact of inflammatory cascades on neuronal function and plasticity;
- Contribution of non-neuronal cells on neuronal homeostasis and network function after acute injury;
- Interaction between neurons and non-neuronal cells to modulate brain plasticity after injury;
- Monitoring of adaptive brain plasticity in acute brain disorders.
Guest Editor:
Karsten Ruscher
Lund University,
Sweden
Keywords: Cell-to-cell interactions; neuron populations; brain plasticity; delayed neuronal cell death; survival mechanisms; inflammatory cascades; non-neuronal cells; neuronal homeostasis; network function; acute injury; adaptive brain plasticity; brain disorders.
Submission Guidelines/Instructions:
Manuscripts should be submitted online at https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/neup.
Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published quarterly in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as other article types are welcome.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page.
The Article Publication Charges (APCs) are waived until 2026.
Please refer to our Author Guidelines to prepare your manuscript.
