Impact Factor for 2008: 4.909
BBI 2008 Rank in Immunology: 21 out of 121 journals (17%)
BBI 2008 Rank in Neuroscience: 36 out of 219 journals (16%)

Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, founded in 1987, is the official journal of the Psychoneuroimmunology Research Society (PNIRS). This innovative journal publishes peer-reviewed basic, experimental, and clinical studies dealing with behavioral, neural, endocrine, and immune system interactions in humans and animals. It is an international, interdisciplinary journal devoted to investigation of the physiological systems that integrate behavioral and immunological responses. The journal welcomes original research in neuroscience, immunology, integrative physiology, behavioral biology, psychiatry, psychology, and clinical medicine and is inclusive of research at the molecular, cellular, social, and organismic levels. The journal features online submission and review. Manuscripts are usually peer-reviewed and returned to authors within 30 days of submission, leading to timely publication of experimental results. There are no submission fees or page charges for Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, which is published eight times a year. Detailed instructions for authors can be found at http://ees.elsevier.com/bbi/.

Research areas include:

• Neurochemical and hormonal mechanisms that convey messages to and from the immune system and brain
• Stress and immunity, including the effects of stress-related hormones and neurotransmitters on the immune system and brain
• Actions of cytokines and growth factors on neuronal and glial cells to regulate behavior, cognition, clinical pain and neuroendocrine function
• Clinical translational research, such as depression, other mental disorders, fatigue, chronic inflammatory diseases
• Roles of hormones, growth factors, and cytokines in the immune and central nervous systems
• Inflammation, neuroscience, and behavior
• Neuroimmunopharmacology and the immunomodulating effects of psychotropic drugs and drugs of abuse
• Sleep, exercise, immunity, and health
• Roles of cytokines, hormones, and neurotransmitters in the aging immune system and brain
• Cancer, brain, and immunity
• Regulation of nerve injury and repair by the immune system
• Psychosocial, behavioral, and neuroendocrine influences on immunity and on the development and progression of immunologically-mediated disease processes
• Genomics of behavior and immunity

Electronic Submission of Manuscripts




Manuscripts must be written in English and submitted electronically at http://ees.elsevier.com/bbi/. New contributors should first register at this site and then log into the Elsevier Editorial System (EES) with their user name and password. There are eight steps that must be completed to submit a manuscript: Enter Article Title; Select Article Type; Add/Edit Remove Author (corresponding author does not need to be the person who submits the paper); Submit Abstract; Enter Key Words; Select Document Classification; Enter Comments (recommend expert reviewers); Attach Files. All sections except the last one can be “copied and pasted” into text boxes from existing files.

The files that must be attached separately are: cover letter to the Editor-in-Chief, manuscript, figures, and tables. An introductory cover letter must outline the most important research findings and their significance. Complete legends (captions) for both figures and tables should be placed at the end of the manuscript. Figures must be attached as separate files or as a single file. Tables must also be attached as either individual tables or a single file with all the tables. All files containing figures or tables must clearly identify each figure or part of figure by adding, at the top of each figure or table, the name of the first author and abbreviated title of the manuscript. Authors can also upload supplementary material such as video, audio, movie and other files (which will be available as a link in the PDF file that the system generates). After the files are attached, the EES system will create a PDF file, which may require a few minutes. You will then be asked to approve the PDF file, a step that must be completed before the new submission is sent to the Editor-in-Chief who will initiate the review process.


The editorial office of Brain, Behavior, and Immunity is:
Dr. Keith W. Kelley
Editor-in-Chief, Brain, Behavior, and Immunity
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Laboratory of Immunophysiology
Integrative Immunology and Behavior Program
Department of Animal Sciences
212 Edward R. Madigan Laboratory
1201 West Gregory Drive
Urbana, IL 61801, USA
bbieditor@illinois.edu
Telephone: (217) 333-9641
Fax: (217) 244-5617
http://ees.elsevier.com/bbi/

The authors should provide names and e-mail addresses of at least three qualified, expert reviewers.

Ethics

Manuscripts are accepted for review with the understanding that the same work has not been and will not be published elsewhere (except in abstract form) and that it is not being submitted for review elsewhere. It is also understood that all persons listed as authors have given their approval for the submission of the paper and that any person cited as a source of personal communications has approved such citation. Written authorization may be required at the Editor's discretion. Articles and any other material published in Brain, Behavior, and Immunity represent the opinions of the author(s) and should not be construed to reflect the opinions of the Editor(s) or the Publisher.

Copyright

Upon acceptance of an article, authors will be asked to sign a “Journal Publishing Agreement” (for more information on this and copyright, see http://www.elsevier.com). Acceptance of this agreement will ensure the widest possible dissemination of information. An e-mail (or letter) will be sent to the corresponding author confirming receipt of the manuscript, together with a “Journal Publishing Agreement” form or a link to the online version of this agreement.

If material from other copyrighted works is 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 Global Rights Department, P.O. Box 800, Oxford OX5 1DX, UK; phone: (+44) 1865 843830, fax: (+44) 1865 853333, e-mail: permissions@elsevier.com. Requests may also be completed online via the Elsevier home page ( http://www.elsevier.com/locate/permissions). Authors are responsible for retaining the signed permission forms following approval by the copyright owners.

Manuscripts Using Human Subjects

Brain, Behavior, and Immunity requires the use of guidelines known as “Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials” (CONSORT) for publishing results of clinical trials. Information about these guidelines can be found at http://www.consort-statement.org/. Authors should note that CONSORT requires a checklist that should be submitted along with the cover letter. Inclusion of a figure depicting subject flow and allocation to the intervention and control conditions must also be contained within the manuscript.

Types of Articles

The chief criteria for the acceptance of submitted papers are the quality, originality, and clarity of the work reported. Original full-length research reports, full-length review articles, brief commentaries, and letters to the editor will be considered for publication. The journal also publishes invited minireviews and short communications. The Editor-in-Chief invites timely articles to be published as minireviews. These minireviews are aimed at being short and focused on a contemporary topic. Invited minireviews consist of approximately 6,000 words of text and 25-30 scientific references. Minireviews must contain one figure highlighting the theme of the article, complete with an explanatory figure legend. If appropriate, a color version of the figure can be published in the online publication, with a black-and-white figure in the print version. If the author chooses this option, the figure legend must be self-explanatory in the absence of color-coding. Manuscripts published as short communications are, primarily, reports of noteworthy findings that do not require extensive introduction or discussion. They may include findings of special interest, some kinds of preliminary results, or descriptions of methods, techniques, or reanalysis of data. Short communications are subject to peer review. Papers will be considered short communications if the text, references, and a maximum of two tables or figures (or one of each) are limited to 3,500 words. Authors may elect to include additional illustrations, but the limitation to 3,500 words will remain. Letters to the editor should be of high scientific quality, contain less than 500 words, and cite no more than 5 scientific references. If the letter is directed to a paper published in Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, the author of that paper will be provided an opportunity to respond. Both the letter to the editor and the author's response will be published simultaneously.

Announcements

Brain, Behavior, and Immunity will consider for publication announcements of interest to the readership such as notices of scientific meetings.

Language Services
Authors who require information about language editing and copyediting services pre- and post-submission please visit http://www.elsevier.com/locate/languagepolishing or contact authorsupport@elsevier.com for more information. Please note Elsevier neither endorses nor takes responsibility for any products, goods or services offered by outside vendors through our services or in any advertising. For more information please refer to our terms and Conditions http://www.elsevier.com/termsandconditions

Form

Manuscripts should be prepared using a 12-point font, double-spaced throughout (including tables, footnotes, references, and figure captions) with 1-in. margins on all sides. Unusual typeface is acceptable only if it is clear and legible. For initial submission, all manuscripts must be prepared and submitted in one of the following formats: Microsoft Word (.doc), WordPerfect (.wps), or Rich Text Format (.rtf). All figures and tables should be clearly labeled at the top.

Revised manuscripts should not be marked using underlined or bolded words to indicate changes from the original submission. Instead, changes in the revised manuscript must be explained in a rebuttal letter. Submission of all revised manuscripts requires both figures and tables to be submitted separately from the manuscript text: do not insert figures and tables at the end of the text for revised manuscripts. Instead, the electronic submission system requires identification and submission of figures and tables separate from the text of revised manuscripts (see information below for graphs, scans, and illustrations). For more information, please also see the Author Gateway Web page for Brain, Behavior, and Immunity available through the journal home page at http://www.elsevier.com/locate/ybrbi.

Page 1 should contain the article title, the names and affiliations of all authors, and, at the bottom of the page, the name, mailing address, e-mail address, telephone number, and Fax number of the person to whom correspondence, proofs, and reprint requests should be sent.

Page 2 should contain an abstract of the article that is not to exceed 250 words. A list of up to 10 keywords or phrases suitable for indexing should be provided in the electronic submission process.

Headings. The organization of the paper should be clearly indicated by appropriate headings and subheadings. After an introductory statement of the background and problem to be investigated, most manuscripts would be arranged under the following main headings: Methods, Results, Discussion, and References.

Abbreviations. Do not use periods after abbreviations of measure (cm, s, kg, mA, etc.) in text or tables, except for "in." (inch). The American Chemical Society Style Guide should be used as a reference for proper abbreviations.

Statistical analyses. Analysis of variance tables should not be submitted, but important F ratios should be presented in the text. Letters used as statistical symbols should be typed in italics. Common statistical tests need not be referenced. The appropriate form for presentation of statistical information should include degrees of freedom and p value (e.g., F (3,17) = 4.16, p < .05; t (22) = 2.97, p < .01; r (2,15) = 0.58, p < .05).

Footnotes. Footnotes should be used only when absolutely necessary. They should be identified in the text by consecutive superscript Arabic numerals and typed double-spaced on a separate page.

References. The name and date system should be used for citing all references. All citations in the text should refer to:

1. Single author: the author's name (without initials, unless there is ambiguity) and the year of publication.
2. Two authors: both authors' names and the year of publication.
3. Three or more authors: first author's name followed by et al. and the year of publication.

Examples: "as demonstrated (Allan, 1996a, 1996b, 1999; Allan and Jones, 1995). Kramer et al. (2000) have recently shown"

References should be arranged first alphabetically and then further sorted chronologically if necessary. More than one reference from the same author(s) in the same year must be identified by the letters "a", 'b", "c", etc., placed after the year of publication.

For journal names follow the abbreviations in the most recent edition of the Chemical Abstracts Service Source Index.

Note the following examples:

Antoni, M., 2002. Stress Management Intervention for Women with Breast Cancer. American Psychological Association, Washington, DC.

French, R.A., Zachary, J.F., Dantzer, R., Frawley, L.S., Chizzonite, R., Parnet, P., Kelley, K.W., 1996. Dual expression of p80 type I and p68 type II interleukin-1 receptors on anterior pituitary cells synthesizing growth hormone. Endocrinology 137, 4027-4036.

Kiecolt-Glaser, J.K., 1999. Stress, personal relationships, and immune function: health implications. Brain Behav. Immun. 13, 61-72.

SAS Institute, 1988. SAS/STAT User's Guide. SAS Institute, Cary, NC.

Sluzki, C.E., Beavin, J., 1977. Symmetry and complementarity. In: Watzlawick, P., Weakland, J.H. (Eds.), The Interactional View. Norton, New York, pp. 71-87. Reprinted from: Acta Psiquiatrica y Psicologica America Latin 11, 321-330 (1965) (reprint).

Turner-Cobb, J., Sephton, S., Spiegel, D., 2001. Psychosocial effects on immune function and disease progression in cancer: human studies. In: Ader, R., Felten, D., Cohen, N. (Eds.), Psychoneuroimmunology. Academic Press, San Diego, pp. 565-582.

World Health Organization, 1998. Obesity: Preventing and managing the global epidemic: Report of a WHO Consultation on Obesity, Geneva, June 3-5, 1997. World Health Organization, Geneva.

Tables. Number tables consecutively with Arabic numerals in order of appearance in the text. Tables should be double-spaced on separate pages that follow the References. The title and footnotes (typed beneath the table) should contain all the information necessary to understand and interpret the table without reference to the text. Footnotes to tables should be identified by superscript lowercase letters and assigned alphabetically in order of appearance as the table is read horizontally.

Graphs. Graphs and charts should be in a finished form suitable for high-quality journal reproduction. Units of measurement should be given in the ordinate and abscissa. Graphs and charts can be submitted as Powerpoint (.ppt), Tagged-Image File Format (.tiff or .tif), or Encapsulated PostScript (.eps) files. If graphs are submitted in color, they must be saved in the CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black) mode for color. If a .tiff (.tif) format is being used and the file is greater than 10 MB, file size should be reduced by using LZW compression. Following preparation of graphs, scans, and illustrations (see below), all figures should be numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals in order of appearance in the text, including figures with more than one part (i.e., Fig. 1A, Fig. 1B, Fig. 1C). All images should then be inserted at the end of the manuscript (one illustration per page). Each graph must be supplied as a separate file in a .ppt, .tif, or .eps format. For further information on the preparation of electronic artwork, please see http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions. The cost of print color reproduction will be charged to the author(s).

Scans and illustrations. Scans should be prepared using high-quality image editing software such as Adobe Photoshop or Corel Photo-Paint. Illustrations should be constructed with high-resolution software such as Adobe Illustrator or CorelDRAW. All images should be in a finished form suitable for publication. Scans and drawings may be either 87 mm (one column or one-half page) or 178 mm (two column or full page) wide. Both widths require resolutions yielding 600 dots per inch/pixels per inch (dpi/ppi) or greater. If scans or illustrations are to be printed in color, it is important that the images be saved in the CMYK mode for color. Scans and illustrations can be submitted either as .tiff (.tif) or .eps files. If a .tiff (.tif) format is being used and the file is greater than 10 MB, file size should be reduced by using LZW compression. All images should be numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals in order of appearance in the text, including figures with more than one part (i.e., Fig. 1A, Fig. 1B, Fig. 1C). Each high-resolution scan or illustration must be supplied as an individual source file in either a .tiff or .eps format.

Color on the Web. The cost of print color reproduction will be charged to the author(s). However, if together with your accepted article, you submit usable color figures, then Elsevier will ensure, at no additional charge, that these figures will appear in color on the Web (e.g., ScienceDirect and other sites) regardless of whether these illustrations are reproduced in color in the printed version. For color 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 that can arise in converting color figures to "gray scale" (for the printed version should you not opt for color in print), please submit in addition usable black-and-white electronic figures corresponding to all the color illustrations, using the criteria set forth above.

Conflict of Interest Statement. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity requires full disclosure of all potential conflicts of interest. It is the responsibility of the corresponding author to obtain and confirm all necessary information from co-authors as a formal requirement for submission of manuscripts. The title page must have a subheading entitled, "Conflict of Interest Statement." All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with others that could inappropriately influence their work. If there are no conflicts of interest, the authors should state, "All authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest."

GenBank/DNA sequence linking. 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 capitalized (see example below). This combination of letters and format will enable Elsevier's typesetters to recognize 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 text will be linked to the appropriate source in the NCBI databases, enabling readers to go directly to that source from the article.

Preparation of supplementary material

Elsevier now accepts electronic supplementary material to support and enhance your scientific research. Supplementary files offer additional possibilities for publishing 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). To ensure that your submitted material is directly usable, please provide the data 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. Please note, however, that supplementary material will not appear in the printed journal. For more detailed instructions, please visit http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions.

Special Subject Repositories

As a service to our authors, Elsevier will deposit to PubMed Central (PMC) author manuscripts on behalf of Elsevier authors reporting NIH funded research. This service is a continuation of Elsevier's 2005 agreement with the NIH when the NIH introduced their voluntary 'Public Access Policy.'

The service will help authors comply with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) revised ''Public Access Policy,'' effective April 7, 2008. The NIH's revised policy requires that NIH-funded authors submit to PubMed Central (PMC), or have submitted on their behalf, their peer-reviewed author manuscripts, to appear on PMC no later than 12 months after final publication.

Elsevier will send to PMC the final peer-reviewed manuscript, which was accepted for publication and sent to Elsevier's production department, and that reflects any author-agreed changes made in response to peer-review comments. Elsevier will authorize the author manuscript's public access posting 12 months after final publication. Following the deposit by Elsevier, authors will receive further communications from Elsevier and NIH with respect to the submission.

Authors are also welcome to post their accepted author manuscript on their personal or institutional web site. Please note that consistent with Elsevier's author agreement, authors should not post manuscripts directly to PMC or other third party sites. Individual modifications to this general policy may apply to some Elsevier journals and society publishing partners.

As a leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical (STM) journals, Elsevier has led the industry in developing tools, programs and partnerships that provide greater access to, and understanding of, the vast global body of STM information. This service is an example of Elsevier willingness to work cooperatively to meet the needs of all participants in the STM publishing community.

Proofs

One set of page proofs in PDF format will be sent by e-mail to the corresponding Author (if we do not have an e-mail address then paper proofs will be sent by post). Elsevier now sends PDF proofs which can be annotated; for this you will need to download Adobe Reader version 7 available free from http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html. Instructions on how to annotate PDF files will accompany the proofs. The exact system requirements are given at the Adobe site: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/acrrsystemreqs.html#70win

If you do not wish to use the PDF annotations function, you may list the corrections (including replies to the Query Form) and return to Elsevier in an e-mail. Please list your corrections quoting line number. If, for any reason, this is not possible, then mark the corrections and any other comments (including replies to the Query Form) on a printout of your proof and return by fax, or scan the pages and e-mail or send by post.

Please use this proof only for checking the typesetting, editing completeness and correctness of the text, tables and figures. Significant changes to the article as accepted for publication will only be considered at this stage with permission from the Editor. We will do everything possible to get your article published quickly and accurately. Therefore, it is important to ensure that all of your corrections are sent back to us in one communication: please check carefully before replying, as inclusion of any subsequent corrections cannot be guaranteed. Proofreading is solely your responsibility. Return corrections within 2 days of receipt of the proofs. Note that Elsevier may proceed with the publication of your article if no response is received.

Offprints

The corresponding author, at no cost, will be provided with free e-offprints, in the form a PDF file of the article, via e-mail. The PDF file is a watermarked version of the published article and includes a cover sheet with the journal cover image and a disclaimer outlining the terms and conditions of use.

Additional paper offprints can be ordered by the authors. An order form with prices will be sent to the corresponding author.

Author Enquiries

For enquiries relating to the submission of articles please visit this journal's homepage at http://www.elsevier.com/locate/ybrbi. You can track accepted articles at http://www.elsevier.com/trackarticle and set up e-mail alerts to inform you of when an article's status has changed, as well as copyright information, frequently asked questions and more.

Contact details for questions arising after acceptance of an article, especially those relating to proofs, are provided after registration of an article for publication.

Disclaimer
Whilst every effort is made by the publishers and editorial board to see that no inaccurate or misleading data, opinion or statement appears in this journal, they wish to make it clear that the data and opinions appearing in the articles and advertisements herein are the sole responsibility of the contributor or advertiser concerned. Accordingly, the publishers, the editorial board and editors and their respective employees, officers and agents accept no responsibility or liability whatsoever for the consequences of any inaccurate or misleading data, opinion or statement.