Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience

The Aging Brain: Geriatric Neuropsychiatry in Aging, Cognition, and Mental Health

Aging-related brain changes and their impact on cognition, neuropsychiatric health, and overall well-being have become a critical focus in modern neuroscience. As populations age, neuropsychiatric disorders - including late-onset epilepsy, cognitive impairment, depression, and anxiety - have increasingly influenced the quality of life in older adults. These conditions often coexist, creating a complex interplay of neurological and psychiatric factors that complicate diagnosis and treatment. In addition to age-related structural and functional brain changes, older adults experience higher vulnerability to neuroinflammation, neurodegeneration, and metabolic disturbances, all of which contribute to neuropsychiatric symptoms. This growing burden underscores the urgent need for interdisciplinary approaches that integrate neurology, psychiatry, and geriatric medicine to improve diagnostic precision, treatment efficacy, and patient outcomes.

Understanding geriatric neuropsychiatry is critical to addressing the challenges of cognitive decline, late-onset neuropsychiatric disorders, and epilepsy in older adults. These conditions are not only underdiagnosed but often misattributed to primary psychiatric or neurodegenerative diseases, leading to inadequate treatment strategies. Additionally, older adults are more susceptible to medication-induced neuropsychiatric side effects, emphasizing the need for tailored, evidence-based therapeutic approaches. Research in this field remains limited, leaving significant gaps in knowledge regarding the neurobiological underpinnings, biomarker development, and optimal treatment paradigms for aging-related neuropsychiatric conditions. By fostering interdisciplinary research and advancing clinical understanding, this collection aims to bridge these gaps and improve the overall well-being of the elderly population.

This Article Collection will explore the multidimensional nature of geriatric neuropsychiatric diseases and conditions, with a particular emphasis on its implications, diagnosis, and treatment, including but not limited to:

• Epidemiology and risk factors of neuropsychiatric disorders in aging, including their relationship with cognitive decline and metabolic dysregulation.
• Neuroimaging and biomarker research for the early detection of cognitive and psychiatric disorders in aging populations.
• Cognitive and psychiatric comorbidities, including depression, anxiety, psychosis, and dementia, and their impact on neurological conditions such as epilepsy and stroke.
• Pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions, balancing cognitive preservation, seizure control, and mental health stability in elderly patients.
• Social, emotional, and caregiver burden, highlighting strategies to improve quality of life and enhance holistic patient care.

We encourage submission of original research, brief reports, and reviews that reflect cutting-edge advances and interdisciplinary approaches to this critical and evolving field.

Dr. Chin-Wei Huang is Director and Professor of Neurology at National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) in Taiwan, where he also leads the Epileptology division. He completed his MD at Kaohsiung Medical University, his PhD at NCKU, and further training in Japan and Canada. A board-certified neurologist and neurocritical care specialist, he holds EEG certification from the Canadian Society of Clinical Neurophysiologists. Dr. Huang’s research focuses on epileptogenesis, with numerous publications and awards from national and international societies. He is also actively involved in EEG teaching programs across Asia.

Prof. Yuan-Han Yang was a research scholar at the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Washington University in St Louis USA, and has published more than 200 manuscripts in dementia-related field, and has been awarded as The Innovation and Impaction Papers: 2013 World Biomedical Frontiers. Currently serve as Professor, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Joint Professor, National Sun Yat-sen University, Distinguished Research, Industrial Technology Research Institute, Chairman, Dementia Research& Care Committee, Geriatric and Welfare Research Center National Health Research Institute, and Director, Neuroscience Research Center, Kaohsiung Medical University.

All manuscripts submitted to this Article Collection will undergo a full peer-review; the Guest Advisor for this Collection will not be handling the manuscripts (unless they are an Editorial Board member).

Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience welcomes original Research Articles, Brief Reports, and Review/State of the Art. Please review the journal scope and author submission instructions prior to submitting a manuscript.

Please be sure to select the Article Collection 'The Aging Brain: Geriatric Neuropsychiatry in Aging, Cognition, and Mental Health' from the drop-down menu in the submission system. Failure to select the appropriate Article Collection can result in delays.

Please contact Sam Zhang at sam.zhang@taylorandfrancis.com with any queries and discount codes regarding this Article Collection.