About the Special Issue

Innovation is essential for the pharmaceutical research and development of novel treatments for CNS disorders. Biogenic amines have been the primary targets in neuropsychiatric conditions, yet their pharmacological intervention lacks definitive disease-altering therapeutic efficacy. Failures in the target identification and target validation effort, as reflected by the poor ability of current bioassays and animal models to predict efficacy may be the reasons for the slow progress in the field of neuropsychopharmacology. In this context, aminergic systems interact with a myriad of factors that modulate their activity. These factors include peptides of either gastrointestinal (e.g., CCK) or neural origin (e.g., opioids, pituitary and hypothalamic peptides), neurotransmitter proteins such as POMC, and the FGF- and CRH-families, humoral factors such as glucocorticoids, NGF, insulin, interleukins, prostaglandins, sex and thyroid hormones, endocannabinoids and even gases (NO, CO and H₂S). Consistent with the polypharmacology paradigm shift in drug discovery, targets beyond classical neurotransmitter systems offer great opportunities to discover repurposed drug candidates for complex psychiatric disorders. As an illustrative example, non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are now recognized as promising strategies to treat major depression given the link between the activation of the immune system and sickness behavior. A deeper understanding of the neurobiology and pharmacology of non-conventional systems of neurotransmission, such as those mediated by the endocannabinoid system, sex hormones, gastrointestinal neuropeptides and gases may be a better research strategy to develop novel drugs that overcome the paucity of treatments for neuropsychiatric indications.

Keywords: Biogenic amines, endogenous cannabinoids, gases, gonadal steroid hormones, neuropsychiatry, neurotransmitter agents, peptide hormones, thyroid hormones

Call for Papers