It is a great pleasure and honor for me to introduce this special issue entitled: Neurobiology of neuropsychiatric disorders: a tribute to Peter Riederer. We have generated this special issue on the occasion of his eightieth birthday to highlight his extraordinary scientific carrier and his dedication to Journal of Neural transmission (JNT) for which he is the Chief editor since 2000. He joined the editorial board of JNT in 1983 when Arvid Carlsson, who later obtained the Nobel Prize, was appointed and took over the responsibilities from Walther Birkmayer as Managing Editor. Under Peter’s leadership JNT has become a key journal in the field of neurosciences, neurology and psychiatry reaching a 2020 Impact factor of 3.575. Our Journal represents a platform for translational research publications in neurosciences and associated clinical fields, thus bridging the gap between basic knowledge and clinical application. This objective is fully illustrated with the structure of this special issue composed of three parts covering neurology, psychiatry and treatment. Peter is fortunate to have very good colleagues and friends who have accepted to contribute the articles included in this special issue. These authors are not only friends of Peter but also outstanding scientists who gave historical, actual and future perspectives of the field.

Personally, I accepted the invitation of Peter to join JNT in 2004 as a section editor for Parkinson’s disease and allied conditions and after being Associate Editor from 2015 to 2019 I became co-Chief editor in 2020. During all these years, I appreciated the mentorship and friendship of Peter in the field of scientific journal edition. I am very grateful to him for introducing me to scientific publishing and for sharing his passion with me.

I would like also to thank the Guest Editors who have accepted to organize with me the three parts of this special issue. Toshiharu Nagatsu from Fujita Health University, Toyoake, Japan and Heinz Reichmann Universitätsklinikum Carl Gustav Carus an der Technischen Universität Dresden, Germany, have kindly accepted to manage the neurology part. Jürgen Deckert from the Clinic and Policlinic for Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Wuerzburg, Germany, has managed the psychiatry part. And Moussa Youdim, Technion-Rappaport Family Faculty of Medicine, Haifa, Israel, has been in charge of the treatment part. Christian Riederer, Peter’s son, is responsible for the editorial office of JNT and without him the journal would not be what it is.

I enjoyed reading all these articles who represent a tribute to Peter’s outstanding scientific career but also its activity as Editor in Chief of JNT. Happy 80th birthday Peter!