An international multidisciplinary journal devoted to fundamental research in the brain sciences.

Now incorporating Cognitive Brain Research, Developmental Brain Research, Molecular Brain Research and Brain Research Protocols





Brain Research publishes papers reporting interdisciplinary investigations of nervous system structure, function and chemistry at all levels of resolution, from molecular to behavioral and social that are of general interest to the broad community of neuroscientists. Clinical investigations, Protocols and Minireviews will also be considered for publication if they provide significant insight into the structure or function of the nervous system, the pathophysiology of a disease, or its treatment. Computational and theoretical papers will also be considered.


Reviews and Minireviews will generally be by invitation, but suggestions are welcomed.


In the Journal's Table of Contents, published papers will be shown under one of the appropriate Section titles listed (in bold type) below - either in Brain Research or, for review articles, in Brain Research Reviews.




1. Cellular and Molecular Biology of Nervous Systems
Senior Editor: James I. Morgan (Memphis, TN, USA)
Associate Editors: Michael Dyer(Memphis, TN, USA), (one other still to be appointed)
All studies investigating the cellular, molecular and genetic bases of structure and function in nervous systems. Included are: molecular dissection of intracellular and extracellular signal transduction pathways, regulation and analysis of gene expression, use of viral vectors as well as genetically modified and model organisms, gene linkage studies, dynamic imaging of intracellular structures and molecules incluing protein trafficking, studies of cell morphogenesis, adhesion, migration and death, proteomics, and structural biology.


2. Nervous System Development, Regeneration and Aging
Senior Editor: Richard J. Smeyne (Memphis, TN, USA)
Associate Editors: Brian M. Davis (Pittsburgh, PA, USA), Kai-Christian Sonntag (Belmont, MA, USA) All studies concerning the formation of the nervous system from a broad range of disciplines including neurogenetics, neurogenesis, gliagenesis, neural stem cells, neural induction and patterning, neuronal migration, cell death, differentiation, development of the blood-brain barrier, axon guidence, synaptogenesis, myelination, cell interactions in the developing nervous system, and imaging studies in human as well as animal model systems, involving both vertebrate species, and in vitro preparations.


3. Neurophysiology, Neuropharmacology and other forms of Intercellular Communication
Senior Editor: Floyd E. Bloom (La Jolla, CA, USA)
Associate Editors: Gary Aston-Jones (Charleston, SC, USA), Rita J. Valentino (Philadelphia, PA, USA)
All studies whose primary focus is on pre- and post-synaptic structure and function at the cellular and circuit level and their dissection by pharmacological means. This includes models of synaptic plasticity such as LTP and LTD as well as studies of ion channels and neurotransmitter receptors.


4. Structural Organization of the Brain
Senior Editor: Patrick R. Hof (New York, NY, USA)
Associate Editors: Javier de Felipe (Madrid, Spain), Teresa A. Milner (New York, NY, USA)
All studies whose primary focus is on the structural organization of the healthy nervous systems including estimates of regional and subregional volumes by any method (from microscopy to non-invasive functional imaging), as well as comparative neuroanatomic studies.


5. Sensory and Motor Systems
Senior Editor: James F. Baker (Chicago, IL, USA)
Associate Editors: Joan S. Baizer (Buffalo, NY, USA), M.S. Gold (Pittsburgh, PA, USA)
All studies whose primary focus is on chemical senses, vision, auditory and vestibular sensation, somatic sensation (including pain), sensorimotor integration, oculomotor control, motor systems regulating locomotion, central pattern generators, and specific components of motor systems from spinal cord, cerebellum, thalamus to motor and pre-motor cortex.


6. Regulatory Systems
Senior Editor: Alan F. Sved (Pittsburgh, PA, USA)
Associate Editors: Timothy H. Moran (Baltimore, MD, USA), (one other still to be appointed)
All studies dealing with internal regulatory systems of the central and peripheral nervous systems, including: central modulatory, neuroendocrine and automatic (cardiovascular, respiritory, thermo-, gastrointestinal, urogenital) regulation; stress and the brain; regulation of food intake and the body weight; biological rhythms and sleep; brain bloodflow, metabolism and homeostasis.


7. Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience
Senior Editor: G. Ronald Mangun (Davis, CA, USA)
Associate Editors: Thomas F. Munte (Magdeburg, Germany), Christina L. Williams (Durham, NC, USA)
All studies of the neural mechanisms of cognition and behavior in humans and animals including basic behaviors such as feeding, mating, reproduction, and aggression, and higher mental functions such as attention, learning and memory, language, judgment, reasoning, decision-making, emotion, and higher-order perceptual and motor processes.


8. Disease-Related Neuroscience
Senior Editor: Frank R. Sharp (Sacramento, CA, USA)
Associate Editors: George F. Koob (La Jolla, CA, USA), Scott D. Moore(Durham, NC, USA)
All studies whose primary focus is on the structural organization of nervous systems of experimental perturbed, or clinically diseased nervous systems including estimates of regional and subregional volumes by any method (from microscopy to non-invasive functional imaging), circuitry and synaptic details (by light and electron microscopy).


9. Computational and Theoretical Neuroscience
Senior Editor: Jonathan D. Cohen (Princeton, NJ, USA)
All studies dealing with the realistic simulations, analysis and predictions of the structure and functions of nervous systems and neuronal elements within a nervous system, and the development and application of databases of neuronal attributes across experimental preparations in order to compare quantitatively their differences in structure, function and responses to experimental perturbations.






THE NEUROSCIENCE PEER REVIEW CONSORTIUM

Brain Research 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 Brain Research and indicate that the referees' reports from the first journal be made available to the Editors of Brain Research .

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 Brain Research . If an author does not wish for this to happen, the manuscript can be submitted to Brain Research 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 Brain Research specification and submit the paper to Brain Research 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 Brain Research the title of the first journal submitted to and the manuscript ID that was given by that journal. The editorial office of Brain Research will request the referees' reports from the first journal.
The Editors of Brain Research 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. Submission of a paper to Brain Research 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 written consent of the Editors and Publisher.


Upon acceptance of an article, Authors will be asked to transfer copyright (for more information on copyright see http://authors.elsevier.com). This transfer will ensure the widest possible dissemination of information. A letter will be sent to the corresponding Author confirming receipt of the manuscript. A form facilitating transfer of copyright will be provided.


If excerpts from other copyrighted works are included, the Author(s) must obtain written permission from the copyright owners and credit the source(s) in the article. Elsevier has preprinted forms for use by Authors in these cases: contact Elsevier's Rights Department, Oxford, UK: phone (+44) 1865 843830, fax (+44) 1865 853333, e-mail permissions@elsevier.com. Requests may also be completed on-line via the Elsevier homepage ( http://www.elsevier.com/locate/permissions).


New nucleotide data must be submitted and deposited in the DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank databases and an accession number obtained before the paper can be accepted for publication. Submission to any one of the three collaborating databanks is sufficient to ensure data entry in all (see details below).


Please write your text in good English (American or British usage is accepted, but not a mixture of these). Italics are not to be used for expressions of Latin origin, for example, in vivo, et al., per se. Use decimal points (not commas); use a space for thousands (10,000 and above). Authors in Japan please note that, upon request, Elsevier Japan will provide authors with a list of people who can check and improve the English of their paper (before submission). Please contact our Tokyo office: Elsevier, 4F Higashi-Azabu, 1 Chome Bldg, 1-9-15 Higashi-Azabu, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0044, Japan; Tel. (03)-5561-5032; fax (03)-5561-5045; e-mail: jp.info@elsevier.com.
The layout and style should adhere strictly to the instructions given under "Organisation of the Article".
No revisions or updates will be incorporated after the article has been accepted and sent to the Publisher (unless approved by the Editors).




Web submission is required - instructions are available for downloading on the website http://ees.elsevier.com/bres


Brain Research Editorial Office, Elsevier, 525 B Street, Suite 1900, San Diego, CA 92101-4495, USA; Fax: (1)-619-699.6855, Email: bres@elsevier.com


In the covering letter with their submission, Authors are required to state under which (sub)section heading their article, if accepted for publication, should appear (see section titles above, under "Scope").


Where possible, Authors should also include a list of three or more potential reviewers for their manuscript, with contact information.


PREPARING ELECTRONIC MANUSCRIPTS


Keep text, tables and graphics (and any other items) as separate files - do not import the figures or tables into the text file. Name your files using the correct extension, e.g. text.doc, fig1a.eps, fig1.tif, Fig1.jpg, tbl1-6.xls, etc.


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 http://authors.elsevier.com/artwork for guidelines for preparing electronic artwork. N.B. With Web submission, only the following formats are acceptable: TIFF, PDF and EPS. 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.


Preparation of supplementary data. Elsevier now accepts electronic supplementary material (e-components) to support and enhance your scientific research. Supplementary files offer the Author additional possibilities to publish supporting applications, movies, animation sequences, high-resolution images, background datasets, sound clips and more. Supplementary files supplied will be published online alongside the electronic version of your article in Elsevier Web products, including ScienceDirect: http://www.sciencedirect.com. In order to ensure that your submitted material is directly usable, please ensure that data is provided in one of our recommended file formats. Authors should submit the material in electronic format together with the article and supply a concise and descriptive caption for each file. For more detailed instructions please visit our artwork instruction pages at the Author Gateway at http://authors.elsevier.com/artwork.


Electronic submission of articles via the Web ( http://ees.elsevier.com/bres)
Full instructions for uploading data and files etc. are given on the website when submitting a manuscript. It is the responsibility of the Authors to create the proper files as instructed above for the electronically submitted manuscript. The editorial office cannot make conversions beyond the supported file types.
No hardcopy manuscripts or illustrations are to be sent to the Editors unless specifically requested. Please note that the electronic files supplied will always be used to produce the illustrations, including those for the print version of the article; it is the Authors' responsibility to ensure that these files are of suitable quality.


ORGANIZATION OF THE ARTICLE


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.


Abstract. This should provide a concise description of the purpose of the report or summary of the review and should not exceed 250 words. References should therefore be avioded, but if essential, they must be cited in full, without reference to the reference list.


Classification terms (to be placed under the Abstract):
Section. One term should be selected from the 9 (sub)Section headings listed above under "Scope".
Keywords. Provide a maximum of six keywords, using American spelling and avoiding general and plural terms and multiple concepts (avoid, for example, "and", "of"). Be sparing with abbreviations: only abbreviations firmly established in the field may be eligible. These keywords will be used for indexing purposes.


Abbreviations. Define abbreviations that are not standard in this field in a footnote to be placed on the first page of the article. Such abbreviations that are unavoidable in the abstract must be difined at their first mention there, as well as in the footnote. Ensure consistancy of abbreviations throughout the article.


Acknowledgements. Collate acknowledgements in a separate section at the end of the article and do not, therefore, include them on the title page, as a footnote to the title or otherwise.


DNA sequences and GenBank Accession numbers. Authors wishing to enable other scientists to use the accession numbers cited in their papers via links to these sources, should type this information in the following manner: For each and every accession number cited in an article, Authors should type the accession number in bold, underlined text. Letters in the accession number should always be capitalised. (See Example below.) This combination of letters and format will enable Elsevier's typesetters to recognise the relevant texts as accession numbers and add the required link to GenBank's sequences. Example: "GenBank accession nos. AI631510 , AI631511 , AI632198 , and BF223228 ), a B-cell tumor from a chronic lymphatic leukemia (GenBank accession no. BE675048 ), and a T-cell lymphoma (GenBank accession no. AA361117 )". Authors are encouraged to check accession numbers used very carefully. An error in a letter or number can result in a dead link. In the final version of the printed article, the accession number text will not appear bold or underlined. In the final version of the electronic copy, the accession number will be linked to the appropriate source in the NCBI databases enabling readers to go directly to the source from the article.


Research Reports and Reviews should be divided into numbered sections headed by a caption (e.g. Abstract, 1. Introduction, 2. Results, 3. Discussion, 4. Experimental Procedure, Acknowledgements, References).

Introduction. In this section, the objectives of the research should be clearly stated. Relevant background information and published studies should be described concisely, and be cited appropriately.


Results. The results should be described clearly and concisely, and in logical order without extended discussion of their significance. Results should usually be presented descriptively and be supplemented by photographs or diagrams.


Discussion. The results of the research should be discussed in the context of other relevant published work, and as concisely as possible. Extensive citations and discussion of published literature should be avoided.


Experimental Procedure. This section should contain all the details necessary to reproduce the experiments. Avoid re-describing methods already published; only relevant modifications should be included in the text.


Literature references. 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 then year of publication. The references should include only articles that are published or in press. Unpublished data, submitted manuscripts, or personal communications should be cited within the text only. Personal communications should be documented by a letter of permission. Abstracts of work presented at meetings may not be cited. All items in the list of references should be cited in the text and, conversly, all references cited in the text must be presented in the list. 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).
Please use the following style for references:


Article in a periodical:
Allan, K., Doyle, M.C., Rugg, M.D., 1996. An event related potential study of word-stem cued recall. Cognitive Brain Res. 4, 251-262.


Chapter in a book (within a series):
Mize, R.R., 1994. Conservation of basic synaptic circuits that mediate GABA inhibition in the subcortical visual system. In Neuroscience: From the Molecular to the Cognitive. Progress in Brain Research, Vol. 100, F.E. Bloom, ed. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp. 123-132.


An entire book:
Swanson, L.W., Bjorklund, A., Hokfelt, T., 1966, Integrated Systems of the CNS, Part III: Cerebellum, Basal Ganglia, Olfactory System. Handbook of Chemical Neuroanatomy, Vol. 12, Elsevier, Amsterdam.


URLs should be included for websites that are relevant to the article.


ILLUSTRATIONS AND TABLES


Illustrations. Authors should consult the Elsevier website for guidelines for preparing (electronic) artwork: http://authors.elsevier.com/artwork. N.B. With Web submission, only the following formats are acceptable: TIFF, PDF and EPS.
It should be borne in mind that in the journal 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.
Accepted manuscripts submitted on diskette, ZIP-disk or CD-ROM that include electronic files of the illustrations must be accompanied by a hardcopy set of the final illustrations.
All hardcopy illustrations should bear the author's name, the orientation (top, bottom, etc.) and be numbered. Hardcopy colour figures should be submitted as separate prints and not be mounted on cardboard.
If illustrations (or other small parts) of articles or books already published elsewhere are used in papers submitted to Brain Research, 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.
On the Web: If you submit usable colour figures with your accepted article, 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 they are reproduced in colour or black-and-white in the printed version of the article.
In the print journal: Authors will be required to pay a fee towards the extra costs incurred in colour reproduction in print. The charges are EURO 200.00 (approx. US$200) per figure reproduced in colour.
Important: Should you not opt for colour in print, please submit in addition usable black-and-white prints corresponding to all the colour illustrations; this is necessary because of technical complications that can arise when converting colour figures to 'grey scale'.


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.


Cover illustration. The selection of illustrations for the cover is at the discretion of the Editors; only those related to articles accepted for publication will be considered. At the end of each year, all published covers will automatically qualify to take part in a competition for the year's best cover illustration, and will be judged on their aesthetic value and scientific interest. The winner will receive a prize of US$ 1000 from Elsevier. Authors are encouraged to submit aesthetically interesting figures for possible publication on the front cover of an issue of the journal. The photograph should at least be related to the author's accepted article, but need not be one of the figures appearing in that article. The ideal format of a cover figure should be 25.4 x 21.4 cm for 1:1 reproduction (or any multiples of the above).


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.


PROOFS, OFFPRINTS, MISCELLANEOUS


Proofs
Authors should keep a copy of their article as proofs will be sent to them without the manuscript. Proofs will be sent by E-mail, as PDFs. Only printer's errors may be corrected; no change in, or additions to, the edited manuscript will be allowed at this stage. Proofreading is solely the Authors' responsibility. A form with queries from the copyeditor may accompany the proofs. Please answer all queries and make any corrections or additions required. Corrections to the proofs must be returned by E-mail or Fax within 48 hours after receipt. If the Publisher receives no response from the Authors after 14 days, it will be assumed that there are no errors to correct and the article will be published.


Page charges
There are no page charges.


Offprints
25 offprints of each paper will be provided free of charge to the corresponding Author. Additional copies can be ordered at prices shown on the offprint order form which will be sent to the Author upon receipt of the accepted article at the Publisher.


POLICY ISSUES


Experimental subjects. When human subjects are used, manuscripts must be accompanied by a statement that the experiments were undertaken with the understanding and written consent of each subject. Authors should be aware of the Code of Ethics of the World Medical Association (Declaration of Helsinki) which has been printed in the British Medical Journal (18 July 1964).


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 with the animals for experimental procedures


For other policy issues, authors are referred to the policy guidelines of the Society for Neuroscience (see their website http://www.jneurosci.org/misc/itoa.shtml).


PROCEDURE FOR ACQUIRING ACCESSION NUMBERS FOR NEW NUCLEOTIDE DATA


New nucleotide data must be submitted and deposited in the DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank databases and an accession number obtained before the paper can be accepted for publication. Submission to any one of the three collaborating databanks is sufficient to ensure data entry in all. The accession number should be included in the manuscript e.g. as a footnote on the title page: 'Note: Nucleotide sequence data reported are available in the DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank databases under the accession number(s)?.' If requested, the database will withold release of data until publication. The most convenient method for submitting sequence data is by World Wide Web:


DDBJ via SAKURA: http://sakura.ddbj.nig.ac.jp/
EMBL via WEBIN: http://www.ebi.ac.uk/embl/submission/webin.html
GenBank^TM; via BankIt: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/BankIt/
or, stand-alone submission tool Sequin: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Sequin/


For special types of submissions (e.g. genomes, bulk submissions, etc.) additional submission protocols are available from the above sites.


Database Contact Information:
DDBJ: Center for Information Biology and DNA Data Bank of Japan, National Institute of Genetics, 1111 Yata, Mishima, Shizuoka 411-8540, Japan tel: +81 559 81 6853; fax: +81 559 81 6849; e-mail: ddbj@ddbj.nig.ac.jp; web URL: http://www.ddbj.nig.ac.jp/


EMBL: EMBL Nucleotide Sequence Submissions, European Bioinformatics Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge CB10 1SD U.K. tel: +44 1223 494499; fax: +44 1223 494472; e-mail: datasubs@ebi.ac.uk; web URL: http://www.ebi.ac.uk


GenBank: National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, Bldg. 38A, Rm 8N-803, Bethesda, MD 20894, U.S.A. tel: +1 301 496 2475; fax: +1 301 480 9241; e-mail: info@ncbi.nlm.nih.gov; web URL: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov