The rapid communication journal for the neurosciences.
Guide for Authors
Submission of a paper to Neuroscience Letters is understood to imply that it deals with original
material not previously published, and that it is not being considered for publication elsewhere. Manuscripts submitted under multiple
authorship are reviewed on the assumption that all listed authors concur with the submission and that a copy of the final manuscript
has been approved by all authors and tacitly or explicitly by the responsible authorities in the laboratories where the work was carried
out. If accepted, the article shall not be published elsewhere in the same form, in either the same or another language, without the
consent of the Editors and Publisher.
Manuscripts of length up to a maximum of 5000 words (the author should reduce this word
count by approximately 250 for each figure included) will be considered for publication. Papers that are longer than six pages in the
journal will be returned to authors for shortening. Articles should be written in English, and should be complete in all respects.
The layout and style should adhere strictly to the instructions given under "Organisation of the Article" and, in particular, the reference
style of Neuroscience Letters.
The author must declare that all experiments on human subjects were conducted in accordance
with the Declaration of Helsinki (http://www.wma.net) and that all procedures were carried out with the adequate understanding
and written consent of the subjects.
The author must also certify that formal approval to conduct the experiments described has
been obtained from the human subjects review board of their institution and could be provided upon request.
When experimental
animals are used, the methods section must clearly indicate that adequate measures were taken to minimize pain or discomfort. Experiments
should be carried out in accordance with the European Communities Council Directive of 24 November 1986 (86/609/EEC), or the National
Institute of Health Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (NIH Publications No. 80-23) revised 1996, or the UK Animals (Scientific
Procedures) Act 1986.
Authors of papers in Neuroscience Letters may cite a "personal communication" only if the submission is
accompanied by a letter from the person referenced in the personal communication. This letter should state that the persons cited have
been given the opportunity to review the part of the manuscript citing them and that they give their approval to being cited in this
manner.
No revisions or updates will be incorporated after the article has been accepted and sent to the Publisher (unless approved
by the Editors).
The Neuroscience Peer Review Consortium
Neuroscience Letters
is a member of the Neuroscience Peer Review Consortium (NPRC). The NPRC has been formed to reduce the time expended and, in particular,
the duplication of effort by, and associated burden on reviewers involved in the peer review of original neuroscience research papers.
It is an alliance of neuroscience journals that have agreed to accept manuscript reviews from other Consortium journals. By reducing
the number of times that a manuscript is reviewed, the Consortium will reduce the load on reviewers and Editors, and speed the publication
of research results.
If a manuscript has been rejected by another journal in the Consortium, authors can now submit the manuscript
to Neuroscience Letters and indicate that the referees' reports from the first journal be made available to the Editors of Neuroscience
Letters.
N.B. Only manuscripts which were first submitted to another journal after the 1st January 2008 are eligible for
the NPRC scheme.
It is the authors' decision as to whether or not to indicate that a set of referee's reports should be forwarded
from the first journal to Neuroscience Letters. If an author does not wish for this to happen, the manuscript can be submitted
to Neuroscience Letters without reference to the previous submission. No information will be exchanged between journals except
at the request of authors. However, if the original referees' reports suggested that the paper is of high quality, but not suitable for
the first journal, then it will often be to an author's advantage to indicate that referees' reports should be made available.
Authors
should revise the original submission in accordance with the first journal's set of referee reports, reformat the paper to Neuroscience
Letters specification and submit the paper to Neuroscience with a covering letter describing the changes that have been
made, and informing the Editors that they are happy for referees' reports to be forwarded from the first Consortium journal. Authors
will be asked upon submission to Neuroscience Letters the title of the first journal submitted to and the manuscript ID that
was given by that journal. The editorial office of Neuroscience Letters will request the referees' reports from the first journal.
The Editors of Neuroscience Letters will use forwarded referees' reports at their discretion. The Editors may use the reports
directly to make a decision, or they may request further reviews if they feel such are necessary.
Visit http://nprc.incf.org
for a list of Consortium journals, as well as further information on the scheme.
As of 01-Jan-2004, all new manuscripts must
be submitted through Neuroscience Letters' online submission and review Web site (http://ees.elsevier.com/nsl/). Authors
are requested to submit the text, tables and artwork in electronic form to this address. In an accompanying letter, authors should state
that the manuscript, or parts of it, have not been and will not be submitted elsewhere for publication.
Submission items include
Cover Letter, Reviewer Suggestions, Manuscript (including Title Page, Abstract, Manuscript Text, References and Table/Figure Legends),
Tables and Figures. Revised manuscripts should also be accompanied by a unique file (separate from the covering letter) with responses
to reviewers' comments. The preferred order of files is as follows: Cover Letter, Reviewer Suggestions, Response to Reviews (revised
mss. only), Manuscript file(s), Table(s), Figure(s). Files should be labelled with appropriate and descriptive file names (e.g. SmithText.doc,
Fig1.eps, Table3.doc). Upload text, tables and graphics as separate files. Do not import figures or tables into the text document.
Authors must send the names and email addresses for 8-10 suggested referees.
Although NSL does not guarantee these reviewers will
be used, the editors take these suggestions under consideration. These recommendations help the journal speed the editorial process.
Authors who are unable to provide an electronic version or have other circumstances that prevent online submission must contact the
San Diego Editorial Office prior to submission to discuss alternate options. The Publisher and Editors regret that they are not able
to consider submissions that do not follow these procedures. Neuroscience Letters
Editorial Office
525 B
Street, Suite 1900
San Diego, CA 92101
USA
Tel +1-619-699-6791
Fax +1-619-699-6801 nsl@elsevier.com
Length of manuscripts will in no case be more than 6 printed pages (5000 words) of the
journal. As an approximate guide to authors for judging the length of their paper, the following estimation may be used: heading + abstract
= 0.5-0.6 pages; 3 type-written (double-spaced) pages = 1 printed page; (when using a word-processor) 850 words or 5300 characters =
1 printed page; 3 single-column wide or 2 double-column wide figures plus legends = 1 printed page; 3 single-column wide or 2 double-column
wide tables = 1 printed page; 17 references = 0.5 printed page.
Text files should be supplied in one of the following formats:
Microsoft Word or WordPerfect, Windows or Macintosh formatted. Ensure that the letter "l" and the digit "1" (also letter "O" and digit
"0") have been used properly, and format your article (tabs, indents, etc.) consistently. Characters not available on your wordprocessor
(Greek letters, mathematical symbols, etc.) should not be left open, but indicated by a unique code (e.g. gralpha, @, #, etc. for the
Greek letter alpha). Such codes should be used consistently throughout the entire text. Please make a list of such codes and provide
a key.
When accepted articles are processed, most formatting codes will be removed or replaced so there is no need for you to
use excessive layout styling. In addition, do not use options such as automatic word breaking, justified layout, double columns or automatic
paragraph numbering (especially for numbered references). However do use bold face, italic, subscripts, superscripts etc. for scientific
nomenclature.
When preparing tables, if you are using a table grid, please use only one grid for each separate table and not
a grid for each row. If no grid is being used, use tabs to align columns, not spaces.
Graphic files: See the Elsevier
website for guidelines for preparing electronic artwork:
http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions. (Note: Only TIFF
or EPS formats are acceptable formats.) Each figure should be a separate file and not be embedded in the text. All graphic files must
be submitted in sufficiently high resolution (300 dpi for grayscale or colour images and 600-1000 dpi for line art) to allow for printing.
No hardcopy manuscripts or illustrations are to be sent to the Editors unless specifically requested. The Publisher and Editors
regret that they are unable to return copies of hardcopy submissions.
Title page. The
title page should contain the following items: (i) complete title (preferably no chemical formulas or arbitrary abbreviations); (ii)
full names of all authors; (iii) complete affiliations of all authors; (iv) the number of text pages of the whole manuscript (including
figures and tables) and the number of figures and tables; (v) the name and complete address of the corresponding author (as well as telephone
number, facsimile number and E-mail address, and if available URL address) to whom correspondence and proofs should be sent; (vi) acknowledgements.
Keywords. 3-6 keywords or phrases should be provided; preferably, these should be selected from the body of the text.
Abstract. An Abstract of up to 250 words describing the purpose of the study, the methods, and the results should precede the main
text.
In general, the main text should be organized as follows: Introduction, Materials and methods, Results, Discussion, Acknowledgements,
References.
Literature references. Citation of literature references in the text should be given at the appropriate places by
numbers in square brackets. All references cited in the text should be listed at the end of the manuscript on a separate page, arranged
in alphabetical order of first author and numbered consecutively. All items in the list of references should be cited in the text and,
conversely, all references cited in the text must be presented in the list. References to periodicals must be complete, including name
and initials of the authors cited, title of paper referred to, abbreviated journal title, volume, year, and first and last page numbers
of the article (see example 1). The abbreviations of journal titles should conform to those adopted by the List of Serial Title Word
Abbreviations, CIEPS/ISDS, Paris, 1985 (ISBN 2-904938-02-8). The form of literature references to books should be: author, initials,
title of book, title of series and volume number (if applicable), publisher and city, year and page numbers referred to (see example
3). References to authors contributing to multi-author books or to proceedings printed in book form should be similar to those for monograph
books (see example 2).
Examples:
[1] K. Allan, M.C. Doyle, M.D. Rugg, An event related potential study of word-stem
cued recall, Cognitive Brain Res. 4 (1996) 251-262.
[2] R.R. Mize, Conservation of basic synaptic circuits that mediate GABA inhibition
in the subcortical visual system. In: F.E. Bloom (Ed.), Neuroscience: From the Molecular to the Cognitive. Progress in Brain Research,
Vol. 100, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1994, pp. 123-132.
[3] L.W. Swanson, A. Bjorklund, T. Hokfelt (Eds.), Integrated Systems of the CNS,
Part III: Cerebellum, Basal Ganglia, Olfactory System. Handbook of Chemical Neuroanatomy, Vol. 12, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1996, 600 pp.
URLs should be included for linking to websites that are relevant to the article.
Illustrations.
Authors should consult the Elsevier website for guidelines for preparing (electronic) artwork: http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions
. N.B. With Web submission, only the following formats are acceptable: TIFF, and EPS.
Illustrations will appear either across
a single column (=8.3 cm) or a whole page (=17.6 cm). The illustrations should be numbered in Arabic numerals according to the sequence
of appearance in the text, where they are referred to as Fig. 1, Fig. 2, etc.
If illustrations (or other small parts) of articles
or books already published elsewhere are used in papers submitted to Neuroscience Letters, the written permission of the authors
and publisher concerned must be included with the manuscript. The original source must be indicated in the legend of the illustration
in these cases.
Colour reproduction. Illustrations will be reproduced in colour in the web versions of the journal at
no cost to the author. Authors will be required to pay a fee towards the extra costs incurred in colour reproduction within the printed
journal. Please apply to the publisher for colour rate.
Colourful e-Products. If, together with your accepted article,
you submit usable colour figures then Elsevier will ensure, at no additional charge, that these figures will appear in colour
on the web (e.g., ScienceDirect and other sites) regardless of whether or not these illustrations are reproduced in colour in the printed
version. For colour reproduction in print, you will receive information regarding the costs from Elsevier after receipt of your accepted
article. For further information on the preparation of electronic artwork, please see http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions.
Please note: Because of technical complications which can arise by converting colour figures to 'grey scale' (for the printed
version should you not opt for colour in print) authors will be requested, after acceptance, to submit in addition usable black and white
illustrations corresponding to all the colour illustrations.
Figure legends should be concise and clear and should not duplicate
the body of the text. Each illustration must have a title and an explanatory legend. The title should be part of the legend and not be
reproduced on the figure itself. The legends should be placed on a separate page at the end of the manuscript and begin with the number
of the illustration they refer to. All symbols and abbreviations used in the figure must be explained.
Tables. Tables
should be so constructed that they, together with their captions and legends, will be intelligible with minimal reference to the text.
Tables of numerical data should each be typed (with double-spacing) on a separate page, numbered in sequence in Arabic numerals (Table
1, 2, etc.) and referred to in the text as Table 1, Table 2, etc. The title of the table should appear above it. A detailed description
of its contents and footnotes should be given below the body of the table.
Multimedia files. The journal is able to accept
electronic supplementary material to support and enhance your scientific research. Supplementary files offer additional possibilities
to publish supporting applications, movies, animation sequences, high-resolution images, background datasets and sound clips. Any files
supplied will be published online alongside the electronic version of your article in Elsevier web products, including ScienceDirect.
In order to ensure that your submitted material is directly usable, please ensure that data files are provided in one of our recommended
file formats. Full details can be accessed on Elsevier's Author Gateway .
When supplementary files are supplied, an additional
'supplementary' figure list should also be submitted. Any supplementary material that is not directly referred to from within the text
of your manuscript should be referred to via use of a footnote to the article title. In addition, it is also recommended that a short
description is provided for each supplementary file supplied. When published online, the descriptive texts will appear as captions alongside
links to the relevant supplementary files.
Please note that any supplementary material supplied is subject to the normal peer
review process.
Proofs. Authors will receive proofs by email. Only printer's
errors may be corrected; no change in, or additions to, the edited manuscript will be allowed at this stage. The corrected proofs must
be returned within 24 hours after receipt by email or FAX. If the Publisher receives no reply, the assumption will be made that there
are no errors to correct and the article will be published after in-house correction.
Reprints. NSL only gives e-offprints
- authors do not have a choice. Printed offprints need to be ordered and paid for separately.
For any information
regarding
your accepted manuscript, proof, etc., please contact the journal's editorial office, stating the journal name and article code number: Neuroscience Letters Editorial Office, 525 B Street, Suite 1900, San Diego, CA 92101, USA; Tel. +1-619-699-6206; Fax +1-619-699-6801;
E-mail: nsl@elsevier.com
Policy Issues. Authors should consult the references found on the Neuroscience
Letters Elsevier Editorial System (http://ees.elsevier.com/nsl/) site for information regarding ethical policies.
Nucleotide Data. New nucleotide data must be submitted and deposited in the DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank databases and an accession number
obtained before a paper can be accepted for publication. Authors should consult the references found on the Neuroscience Letters
Elsevier Editorial System (http://ees.elsevier.com/nsl/) site for further details.
