Biomarker Discovery and Validation in Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology

Recent advances in molecular biology, neuroimaging, and computational methods have accelerated the identification of biomarkers for cognitive and behavioral disorders. Biomarkers derived from cerebrospinal fluid, blood, neuroimaging, electrophysiology, or genetic and epigenetic signatures can improve early diagnosis, track disease progression, predict treatment response, and serve as clinical trial endpoints. However, the translation from biomarker discovery to clinical practice remains limited by challenges in reproducibility, standardization, validation across diverse populations, and regulatory acceptance.This Research Topic focuses on the discovery, rigorous validation, and clinical application of biomarkers in cognitive and behavioral neurology. We invite studies addressing conditions including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, frontotemporal dementia, vascular cognitive impairment, neurodevelopmental disorders, and other syndromes affecting cognition and behavior. Priority will be given to research that demonstrates clinical utility through longitudinal validation, multimodal integration, or added diagnostic and prognostic value beyond current standards.We welcome original research, brief reports, and reviews addressing the following areas.1. Fluid and neuroimaging biomarkers. Fluid biomarkers include cerebrospinal fluid, blood, saliva, or urine-based proteins such as phosphorylated tau, amyloid beta isoforms, neurofilament light chain, glial fibrillary acidic protein, and synaptic proteins. Neuroimaging biomarkers include structural, functional, and molecular imaging modalities such as MRI, fMRI, PET, and SPECT. Studies on biomarker panels for differential diagnosis or early detection and validation of blood-based alternatives are encouraged.2. Genetic and epigenetic biomarkers. These include risk alleles, polygenic risk scores, rare variants, DNA methylation, histone modifications, and non-coding RNA signatures. Integration with fluid or imaging data for patient stratification is of interest.3. Biomarker validation and standardization. Studies establishing assay reproducibility, cross-platform comparability, reference ranges, or validation in independent and diverse clinical cohorts are encouraged. Regulatory grade validation for clinical trial endpoints or diagnostic tools is also relevant.4. Translational applications, precision medicine, and computational methods. This includes biomarker-guided patient selection for clinical trials or targeted therapies, biomarkers as surrogate endpoints in intervention studies (pharmacological, neuromodulation, or cognitive rehabilitation), as well as machine learning, high-throughput omics (proteomics, metabolomics, lipidomics), artificial intelligence, deep learning, and network modeling for biomarker discovery, risk prediction, or mechanistic insights.This Research Topic aims to bridge the gap between biomarker discovery and clinical readiness. By highlighting robust validation studies, we seek to accelerate the translation of biomarker science into improved diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment monitoring for patients with cognitive and behavioral disorders. Topic editors: Cong Liu, Yingying Wang, Yajie Xu, Feifei Yuan Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/80017/biomarker-discovery-and-validation-in-cognitive-and-behavioral-neurology