Journal of Molecular Psychiatry, a new open access journal published by BioMed Central, has launched today with its first publishedarticles.

In the launchEditorial, Editor-in-ChiefProfessor Johannes Thomehighlights that one of the great achievements of molecular psychiatry is to ‘unravel the oversimplification of many theories in biological psychiatry and to open our eyes to the fundamental processes such as gene-environment interaction which enable us to integrate even psychotherapeutic and social concepts of mental health into a new holistic and integrative psychiatry’. In keeping with this objective, this new journal aims to disseminate state-of-the-art research focussing on psychiatric conditions, their diagnosis, therapy and prevention, by providing a platform for the rapid communication of scientific work focussing on the elucidation of the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying neuropsychiatric disorders.

The first articles to be published showcase the extensive range of topics covered in the journal, and include areviewdiscussing the use of post-mortem analysis of brain tissue as a possible tool to gain a deeper insight into the neurobiology of different psychiatric disorders, as well as anarticlereporting an investigation into the effect of Methylphenidate, a drug commonly used to treat ADHD, on neuronal stem cell differentiation. In hiscorrespondence piece, Professor Eric Nestler details the origins of the field of molecular psychiatry, and highlights recent advances in the field, as well as challenges yet to be overcome.

Journal of Molecular Psychiatryis an exciting new addition to our growingportfolio of psychiatry journals, and is supported by an expertEditorial Board. Please visit the journalwebsiteto find out more about the journal, and tosign up for article alerts.