Dear Colleagues,

Basic and clinical research on brain-based mechanisms that increase the risk and maintenance of substance misuse has evolved tremendously in the last decade, increasing our understanding of the biological processes and neural circuits related to addiction. We have also learned that progression to substance use disorder is multifaceted; many interdisciplinary studies have demonstrated that social, environmental, and cultural influences interact with neurobiological vulnerability to increase the propensity for problematic substance use patterns and substance-use disorders. Currently, a greater focus on multimodal research, longitudinal design, and early life factors is needed to better predict trajectories of substance use and behavioral transitions, and this will be a key priority for addictions research in the next decade. Neuroscience-informed prevention and intervention research that can target brain adaptations to substance use and help develop new and improved treatment has also been identified as a priority.

This Special Issue will focus on clinical research studies that examine one or more of the following topics：

1) brain–behavior relationships that predict risk for substance use, changing substance-use behaviors, and maintenance of substance use over time; 2) social, environmental, and cultural complexities that interact with brain–behavior mechanisms to predict substance use, escalation of use, and addiction; and 3) intervention research targeting modifiable brain–behavior relationships to improve treatment outcomes and minimize the gap between neuroscience research and clinical practice.

Each paper should include at least one brain system and/or brain–behavior metric and substance-use-related outcome measure and should discuss how the relevance of its findings in terms of reducing substance misuse and substance use disorders.

Dr. Joanna Jacobus
Dr. Natasha Wade
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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. Brain Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• brain
• cognition
• addictions
• substance use disorder
• neuroscience
• drugs of abuse
• alcohol
• drug abuse–treatment
• alcoholism–treatment
• nicotine
• nicotine addiction–treatment