The intersection of neuroscience and mental health research has long suffered from a critical problem: findings produced in academic laboratories rarely reach the clinicians, patients, and policymakers who need them most. Peer-reviewed journals have traditionally served a specialist audience, leaving a significant gap between scientific progress and public understanding. Prof. Dr. Christian Beste, PLOS Mental Health Section Editor for Cognition & Mental Health, is directly addressing this challenge. As a founding section editor since 2023, he brings his expertise in cognitive neurophysiology and psychological neuroscience to bear on one of the most pressing issues in modern science communication – making mental health research accessible, credible, and actionable for a broad audience.
What is PLOS Mental Health?
PLOS Mental Health is an open-access journal published by the Public Library of Science, one of the most respected open-access publishers in academic science. The journal focuses on research that advances understanding of mental health conditions, their biological and psychological underpinnings, and their societal implications. As an open-access publication, all articles are freely available to anyone with an internet connection – a deliberate choice that reflects the journal’s commitment to democratising scientific knowledge.
The journal is structured around thematic sections, each overseen by a dedicated section editor who brings specialist expertise to the peer-review process and editorial direction of that area.
What is Prof. Dr. Christian Beste’s Role at PLOS Mental Health?
Since 2023, Prof. Dr. Christian Beste has served as Founding Section Editor for “Cognition & Mental Health”, overseeing peer review for submissions that address the relationship between cognitive processes and mental health conditions. This sits precisely at the intersection of his own research in cognitive neurophysiology and psychological neuroscience.
As section editor, he assesses incoming manuscripts, identifies appropriate reviewers, and makes editorial recommendations that ensure the scientific rigour and relevance of published work. His involvement as a founding editor means he has helped shape the editorial identity of the section from its inception.
Why does the Cognition & Mental Health section matter?
Conditions such as ADHD, Tourette syndrome, depression, and anxiety all involve measurable changes in cognitive processes – attention, memory, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility amongst them. Yet research in this area has historically been fragmented across disciplines, with psychologists, psychiatrists, and neuroscientists often working in parallel rather than together.
The Cognition & Mental Health section provides a dedicated space for work that bridges these disciplines. Prof. Dr. Christian Beste’s expertise in exactly this interdisciplinary space makes him particularly well-placed to guide its scientific direction.
What Other Editorial Roles Does Prof. Dr. Christian Beste Hold?
Prof. Dr. Christian Beste’s editorial engagement extends well beyond his role as PLOS Mental Health Section Editor. He holds positions at a number of leading international journals, reflecting his scientific standing and commitment to high standards in peer review.
His current editorial roles include:
- Section Lead for “Cognitive Neuroscience” at Communications Biology (Nature Publishing Group), since 2025
- Associate Editor at NeuroImage, since 2024
- Founding Section Editor “Cognition & Mental Health” at PLOS Mental Health, since 2023
- Editorial Board Member at BMJ General Psychiatry, since 2023
- Editorial Board Member at Communications Biology, since 2021
- Associate Editor at Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, since 2020
- Associate Editor at Frontiers in Psychology, since 2020
- Editorial Board Member at Scientific Reports, since 2014
- Editorial Board Member at Neuropsychologia, since 2011
He reviews manuscripts for several dozens of journals annually, including Brain, Nature Communications, Current Biology, PNAS, Lancet Neurology, and Trends in Cognitive Sciences.
What is the “The Bigger Picture” Initiative?
Since 2024, Prof. Dr. Christian Beste has steered “The Bigger Picture” platform within the journal. This initiative promotes early career researchers and communicates mental health topics to lay audiences in an accessible way. By giving early career scientists a visible platform and translating research findings into language accessible to non-specialists, it serves two purposes: supporting the next generation of researchers and closing the gap between science and society.
This connects directly with his broader commitment to public knowledge transfer, which also includes involvement in documentary films, podcasts, and science communication platforms in Germany.
Why Does Open-Access Publishing Matter for Mental Health Research?
Open-access publishing removes the financial and institutional barriers that have traditionally restricted access to scientific literature. For mental health research specifically, patients, families, advocacy organisations, and clinicians in under-resourced settings often cannot access findings published behind paywalls – yet these are precisely the groups who stand to benefit most.
Prof. Dr. Christian Beste has been committed to open-access publishing throughout his career. His first publication appeared in open-access format, and he has consistently supported the transformation of scientific publishing towards open access, open data, and open materials.
What is the #EEGManyLabs Initiative?
The #EEGManyLabs Initiative is a large-scale collaborative project aimed at increasing reproducibility in EEG-based neuroscience research. In 2023, Prof. Dr. Christian Beste and colleagues received the Credibility in Neuroscience Team Award by the British Neuroscience Association for the initiative’s contribution to research transparency and reproducibility.
Reproducibility is one of the foundational challenges in contemporary neuroscience. The initiative addresses this directly by coordinating multi-site replications of key EEG findings. This complements his editorial work – both are expressions of the same underlying commitment to credible, transparent, and accessible science.
FAQ: Christian Beste – PLOS Mental Health Section Editor
Prof. Dr. Christian Beste has been Founding Section Editor for “Cognition & Mental Health” at PLOS Mental Health since 2023, overseeing peer review and editorial direction for research at the intersection of cognitive science and mental health.
The section covers empirical and theoretical research examining how cognitive processes relate to mental health conditions such as ADHD, Tourette syndrome, depression, and anxiety.
He currently holds editorial positions at Communications Biology, NeuroImage, BMJ General Psychiatry, Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, Frontiers in Psychology, Scientific Reports, and Neuropsychologia, amongst others.
A platform steered by Prof. Dr. Christian Beste since 2024, designed to promote early career researchers and communicate mental health findings to non-specialist audiences.
Further information is available at www.actionlab.de, through the Google Scholar profile of Prof. Dr. Christian Beste, and on the PLOS Mental Health website, where his role as Section Editor for Cognition & Mental Health is listed.”
