Technology-Enabled Neuropsychiatric Cognitive Care in Aging: Foundation and Implementation Opportunities

Aging is accompanied by increasing rates of cognitive disorders and neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) including depression, anxiety, apathy, agitation, sleep disturbance, and psychosis across the cognitive spectrum. These symptoms often emerge in preclinical and prodromal stages, accelerate functional decline, increase caregiver distress, and contribute to earlier institutionalization. Mental health vulnerabilities intersect with biological risk factors, chronic stress, gender, socioeconomic inequities, and cultural barriers to care. At the same time, advances in innovative technologies, including immersive technologies (e.g., VR/AR), multimodal sensors, and advanced predictive analytics (e.g. machine learning) are reshaping opportunities for prevention, prediction, early detection, symptom management, and caregiver support. However, evidence remains fragmented across disease stages, settings, and populations. This Research Topic positions neuropsychiatric and mental health as central - not secondary - to the prevention and management of cognitive disorders.We encourage work spanning across pre-clinical and clinical research, clinical trials, implementation science, and health equity frameworks. Contributions should advance both scientific insight and scalable, real-world solutions for diverse aging populations. This Research Topic welcomes international and interdisciplinary contributions addressing technological innovations used in assessing and managing neuropsychiatric and mental health dimensions of neurocognitive disorders across settings and stages.The goal of this Research Topic is to advance an integrated, lifespan-oriented understanding of the role of technological innovation in neuropsychiatric and mental health care across the full trajectory of cognitive disorders—from primary prevention and risk reduction, through mild cognitive impairment and early dementia, to advanced stages of disease. We aim to highlight interdisciplinary research that addresses innovative technology-enabled models of intervention and care. We encourage studies that:- Examine technologies used to identify early neuropsychiatric predictors of cognitive decline and dementia progression.- Evaluate technological interventions targeting depression, anxiety, apathy, behavioral disturbance, or sleep disruption in individuals with or at risk for neurocognitive disorders.- Explore technological innovations used to enhance mental health and cognitive wellbeing among family caregivers across disease stages. Topic editors: Amer M Burhan, Winnie Sun, Takatoshi Hara, Mary Chiu Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/77549/technology-enabled-neuropsychiatric-cognitive-care-in-aging-foundation-and-implementation-opportunities