Guide for Authors Brain and Language publishes original research articles on the neuroscience of language. Each contribution
will be relevant to human language and to any aspect of the brain or brain function. Articles from many scientific disciplines will fit
into this framework, and it is expected that many of these will be interdisciplinary articles that span several disciplines. It all cases,
it is expected that the highest standards of research methodology will be achieved, and at the discretion of the Editorial Board, papers
will be subject to secondary methodological review.
Manuscripts of three types are solicited:
Short communications: These are
succinct articles typically reporting a single important experimental finding. Such articles usually contain fewer than 6 published pages,
or fewer than 35,000 characters (including spaces). Such articles do not contain a large discussion of methods, other than those needed
to report the main findings. Typically such articles include Introduction (including a brief statement of methods), Results, and Discussion,
followed by a formal section on Methods that will ultimately appear as supplementary materials on the Brain and Language web site. Short
communications may have up to 3 Figures and Tables that take up at most 1 full journal page. Such articles will earn rapid review and
decision, and will have priority for rapid publication.
Regular articles: These are regular articles typically reporting significant
experimental findings. Typical articles occupy between 6 and 12 pages in the journal, or fewer than 70,000 characters (incuding spaces),
but can be longer with submission of a cover letter justifying the need for additional length and permission of the Editor. Regular articles
may have up to 6 Figures and Tables that take up at most 2 full journal pages.
Review articles: These are longer articles that critically
review a topic of importance to the readership of Brain and Language. Such articles are typically 15 pages or longer, and contain extensive
references to the literature.
Submission of Manuscripts Manuscripts must be written in clear, concise, grammatical English.
Authors are requested to submit their papers electronically by using online manuscript submission available at http://ees.elsevier.com/brln.
This site will guide authors stepwise through the submission process. Authors should upload the source files of their articles in the
preferred format of Microsoft (MS) Word, RTF, WordPerfect, or LaTeX for text and TIFF or EPS for figures. If you submit a word processing
file, the system generates an Adobe Acrobat PDF version of the article, which is used for the reviewing process. Authors, reviewers,
and editors send and receive all correspondence by e-mail and no paper correspondence is necessary. Should you be unable to provide an
electronic version, please contact the Editorial Office prior to submission:
Brain and Language Editorial Office 525
B Street, Suite 1900 San Diego, CA 92101 Telephone: (619) 699-6312 Fax: (619) 699-6211 E-mail: b-l@elsevier.com
Language
data may be given in English when clearly identifiable; otherwise, they should be transcribed into the phonetic alphabet of the International
Phonetic Association (IPA).
There are no submission fees or page charges. There is no charge for color figures that are necessary
to the maximal understanding and impact of the article (e.g., functional brain images), as determined by the Publishing Editor at Elsevier
and the Action Editor for that manuscript. Additional figures (e.g., line graphs) will appear in color in the on-line version of the
manuscript, but will only appear in color in the print version with payment of E300 per page.
Only original papers will be considered.
Manuscripts are accepted for review with the understanding that the same work has not been published, that it is not under consideration
for publication elsewhere, and that its submission for publication has been approved by all of the listed authors and by the institutions
where the work was carried out. If human subjects were involved in the research, authors must note in their letter of submittal that
the research was conducted using appropriate ethical guidelines. Any person cited as a source of personal communication must have given
her or his approval of such citation. Written authorization may be required at the Editor's discretion.
Articles and any other material
published in Brain and Language represent the opinions of the author(s) and should not be construed to reflect opinions of the Editor(s)
and the Publisher.
Manuscripts will be evaluated by one member of a group of Senior Consulting Editors, who will decide if the manuscript
should be sent out for full peer review. If such peer review is deemed appropriate, an Action Editor, who will be either the Editor-in-Chief
or a member of the Editorial Board, will invite at least two and no more than four reviewers to provide detailed critiques, priority
scores, and recommendations. Based on this information, the Action Editor will decide whether the article should be accepted immediately,
recommended for revision, or rejected. Rejected articles may not be resubmitted to Brain and Language.
Upon acceptance of an article,
authors will be asked to transfer a copyright
(for more information on copyright, see http://www.elsevier.com/locate/authorsrights).
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 after acceptance. If material from the other copyrighted
works is included, in 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 Global Rights Department, P.O. Box 800, Oxford OX5
1DX, UK; phone (+44) 1865843830, fax: (+44) 1865 853333, e-mail: permissions@elsevier.com.
Preparation of Manuscript
Submission items include the following:
• Cover Letter
• A list of six suggested reviewers with names, affiliations,
and email addresses
• The names of any individuals who would have a conflict of interest and a brief explanation
•
Full abstract (Research Articles and Reviews): 500 words
• Short abstract (All Articles): 100 words
• Statement of
significance to the neuroscience of language: 50 words
• Type of submission (i.e., Short Communication, Regular Article, or
Review)
• Total number of characters (including spaces) in the submission
