Comparative and translational neuroimaging in naturally occurring animal models of neurological disorders

Neuroimaging has emerged as a crucial tool for understanding the structural and functional alterations underlying neurological disorders. Comparative and translational neuroimaging bridges the gap between animal models and human disease, allowing researchers to explore the biological underpinnings of neurological dysfunction in a cross-species context. Naturally occurring animal models—particularly companion animals that spontaneously develop neurological disorders—offer distinctive opportunities to investigate disease progression under physiologically relevant circumstances. Despite substantial progress in human and experimental neuroimaging, gaps remain in validating imaging biomarkers, integrating multimodal techniques, and linking imaging metrics to clinical and pathological outcomes across species. The potential of these naturally occurring models remains underexploited in translational neuroscience.This Research Topic aims to foreground the shared resources, data and biobank infrastructure, standardized protocols, harmonized metadata frameworks, and analytical tools needed to advance comparative and translational neuroimaging in naturally occurring animal models of neurological disorders. Building on these resources, it seeks to support the development and validation of cross-species imaging biomarkers, assess their translational value for human medicine, and explore methodological frameworks that enhance reproducibility and clinical relevance. The objective is to foster interdisciplinary dialogue among veterinary neurologists, neuroscientists, and imaging experts, driving the development of shared imaging databases and analytical tools. Key questions include how neuroimaging can improve diagnostic precision, monitor treatment efficacy, and reveal mechanisms shared between animal and human neuropathologies.To gather further insights into the translational potential of neuroimaging, this Research Topic will encompass a range of comparative studies, data resources, biobank initiatives, and methodological reports focusing on naturally occurring animal models of neurological disease. We welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:o Development of neuroimaging data banks, biobanks, shared repositories, and harmonized metadata frameworks for naturally occurring animal modelso Cross-species analytical tools, including image registration, atlas development, data harmonization, and comparative analysis frameworkso Development and validation of cross-species neuroimaging biomarkerso Comparative studies of structural, functional, and metabolic imagingo Imaging correlates of epileptic, neurodegenerative, inflammatory, cerebrovascular, developmental, and other naturally occurring neurological disorderso Integration of imaging data with clinical, genetic, behavioral, and pathological outcomeso Advanced image analysis and artificial intelligence, and computational tools for translational and cross-species neuroimagingo Methodological innovations improving reproducibility and standardization across species, sites, and models, including imaging acquisition, quality control, preprocessing, and reporting protocolso Curated, open neuroimaging datasets submitted as FAIR² Data Articles, supporting data reuse, reproducibility, and compliance with funder open-data mandateso Ethical and practical considerations in translational imaging research Topic editors: Sung-Ho Lee, Elizabeth Guadalupe Ibarra-Coronado Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/85826/comparative-and-translational-neuroimaging-in-naturally-occurring-animal-models-of-neurological-disorders