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Progress and opportunity in developmental neurobiology and youth mental health

Neuropsychopharmacology (2025)Cite this article

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In the context of a widely recognized crisis in youth mental health, it is readily apparent that advances in the understanding of child and adolescent development are greatly needed. Yet the case for prioritizing youth mental health research is even more important when considered in a broader context. Developmental events – whether environmentally or genetically driven – have a profound influence on mental health, not only during childhood and adolescence, but also in adulthood. Thus, understanding the factors influencing the development of children and their brains has the potential to unlock solutions to mental health challenges throughout the lifespan. Moreover, interventions aimed at these factors early in life are among the most effective approaches we have to preventing mental illnesses and improving mental health outcomes.

This issue of Neuropsychopharmacology includes reviews of cutting-edge research that ranges from molecular neurobiology to primary prevention and cutting-edge intervention. While this progress is exciting, we must agree with the lived experience of a mother mourning the loss of her son James in the opening essay of this issue [1], “there is still so much work to be done” to deliver better outcomes. Here, we take a future-facing perspective in highlighting several of the principal research approaches that promise new knowledge to ameliorate and prevent mental health conditions in youth.

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  • 12 September 2025

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Joshua A. Gordon & Jeremy Veenstra-VanderWeele

  2. New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA

    Joshua A. Gordon & Jeremy Veenstra-VanderWeele

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  1. Joshua A. Gordon
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  2. Jeremy Veenstra-VanderWeele
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JAG and JV-VW wrote and edited this manuscript in its entirety.

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Correspondence to Joshua A. Gordon.

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Competing interests

JAG has no competing interests to report. JV-VW has consulted or served on an advisory board for Roche Pharmaceuticals, Novartis, SynapDx, the Simons Foundation, the Coalition for Aligning Science, Autism Speaks, and the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation. He has received research funding from Roche Pharmaceuticals, Novartis, SynapDx, Seaside Therapeutics, Janssen, Yamo Pharmaceuticals, MapLight, Acadia, Forest, the Simons Foundation, the Department of Defense, and the National Institute of Health. He has received an editorial stipend from Springer and Wiley.

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Gordon, J.A., Veenstra-VanderWeele, J. Progress and opportunity in developmental neurobiology and youth mental health. Neuropsychopharmacol. (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41386-025-02205-0

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