The Journal of Pain

Note to NIH Grant Recipients: Articles accepted for publication from authors who have indicated that the underlying research reported in their articles was supported by an NIH grant will be sent by Elsevier to PubMed Central (PMC) for public access posting 12 months after final publication. The version of the article provided by Elsevier will be the final peer-reviewed manuscript that was accepted for publication and sent to Elsevier's production department, and which reflects 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 communication from the NIH with respect to the submission. For more information on Elsevier's funding body agreements, see http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/authorsview.authors/fundingbodyagreements.



The Journal of Pain publishes original articles related to all aspects of pain and pain management and welcomes submissions from clinical and basic researchers, medical specialists, psychologists, nurses, physical therapists, social workers, and workers in related fields. The Journal of Pain is interdisciplinary in focus and committed to advancing knowledge about pain mechanisms and pain management. The Journal will publish reports of original clinical research, reports of original basic research, Focus Articles, Critical Reviews, and Letters to the Editor. Manuscripts considered to provide particularly innovative or groundbreaking findings may be designated for fast-track handling by the editorial board, and such articles may be published on an expedited basis. Fast-track determination will be made by the Editor-in-Chief in consultation with the editorial board. Authors may request consideration of fast-track designation but most provide rationale for this in their cover letter. The Journal does not publish case reports or studies that include open-label trials. The editor may also select some manuscripts for triage handling. Authors will receive prompt notification in such cases.

The Journal will not consider manuscripts that are prepared by professional research or writing companies and which are funded by pharmaceutical companies. Preparation of drafts of manuscripts by an employee of the study sponsor or by anyone else who is not listed as an author is expressly prohibited. All listed authors must make substantial contributions to: conception, design, acquisition and analysis of data; drafting and revising of the article; and approval of the article as written and responsibility for the content and completeness. No author may be added after review of the original submission.

The Journal does not publish case reports, studies that include open-label medication trials, uncontrolled studies, reports on the translation of established measures, or articles that are primarily descriptive in nature. However, studies that contribute to the development and testing of pain theories and that test specific hypotheses based on a theoretical rationale are particularly encouraged.

Manuscript preparation

Authors must submit manuscripts electronically, uploading documents to the submission website ( http://ees.elsevier.com/jpain/ ). The system will convert documents to PDF files. Authors are encouraged to submit manuscripts in Microsoft Word.

Please follow the instructions below when organizing manuscripts:

Pages must be numbered consecutively, beginning with the title page. Manuscripts without numbered pages will be returned to authors for correction. Materials should be presented in this order: cover letter; manuscript (as a single file that contains the following): title page, abstract, perspective, text, disclosures (required), acknowledgments (optional), disclosures, references, figure legends); figures; tables.

Cover letter — A cover letter must be presented and must include contact information for the corresponding author; this contact information must also be presented on the title page and must match the corresponding author designated in the Elsevier Editorial System upon upload. (When such information differs, manuscripts will be returned to authors for correction.) Any conflicts of interest should be noted, and if no conflicts are present, this should be explicitly stated. Include a statement that all authors are listed and that all have contributed substantially to the manuscript. Authors must state whether manuscripts from the same study were submitted or published. Authors are asked to suggest the names of three potential reviewers; please include contact information.

Title page (page 1) — The title should be a concise and informative description of the study and should indicate animal species if the research was conducted on nonhuman animals subjects. Within the title, use nonproprietary names for drugs, and descriptions for devices. Brand name may be mentioned only once within the text (upon first reference), unless essential to the study. The title page should include the authors' names, department(s), institution where the work was done, and institutional affiliations of authors. The corresponding author must be clearly identified and phone/fax/e-mail information must be provided. The corresponding author noted on the manuscript's title page must be the same person designated as corresponding author within the Elsevier Editorial System. The title page should include a short running title (45 characters, excluding spaces) and up to six words to be used for indexing.

Abstract (page 2) — An abstract of 200 words or less should describe concisely the purpose of the study, the main findings, and conclusions, all in one paragraph without subheadings. References may not be included in the abstract.

Trial registration — Clinical trials that involve devices or drugs provided by a manufacturer or pharmaceutical company should be registered at the time of submission to The Journal of Pain. The online registry information should appear at the end of the abstract.

Perspective — This item, limited to 50 words, should appear at the end of the abstract. The perspective presents a synopsis of the work to facilitate understanding of its significance. Authors of basic science reports should highlight the potential clinical relevance of their results for the benefit of clinical readers. Authors of clinical science reports should highlight the underlying mechanisms for the results, for the benefit of clinical scientists and basic scientists. Example: "Perspective: This article presents the psychometric properties of a new measure of spouse responses to patient chronic pain and well behavior. This measure could potentially help clinicians who seek to assess how spouse responses may contribute to patient pain and disability." References should not be included in the perspective.

Key words — Five key words should be provided following the perspective, for indexing purposes.

Text — The text of the article should include the following sections: Abstract and Perspective (as noted above),Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Disclosures, References, and Figure Legends (if applicable). Subheadings in the Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, and Acknowledgments sections should be used as necessary to aid organization and presentation, but subheadings and sections should not be numbered. All sections should be written concisely. Limit the Introduction to 600 words and the Discussion to 1500 words. Note that section labels may not apply to some article types, including Focus Articles and Critical Review Articles. Footnotes are not permitted in the text. Information must be cited parenthetically, or within the References section.

Notes regarding the Materials and Methods section

Human subjects — Articles involving research conducted in human subjects must include statements inMaterials and Methods indicating that 1) approval by the Institutional Review Board was granted; and 2) informed consent was obtained from each subject. Subjects should be identified only by number, not name or initials. Articles involving research conducted in non-human animals must include a statement in Materials and Methods, indicating approval by the Institutional Review Board and that the care and use of animals conformed to applicable national/international guidelines.

Animal subjects — Articles involving research conducted in non-human subjects must include 1) a statement indicating approval by the Institutional Review Board and that the care and use of animals conformed to applicable national/international guidelines; and 2) information about the source (vendor and location) of animals. If anesthesia was used, the anesthetic, dose, and duration of surgery must be provided, as well as information about any intra- and/or post-operative drugs (ie, drug, dose, and inter-dosing interval, if given more than once).

CONSORT Statements — For clinical trials, authors must prepare a CONSORT statement. This should be presented as a flow chart diagram, preferably labeled as Figure 1, and should be cited within the text. This statement gives readers important information about procedures used during trials. See http://www.consort-statement.org/ for details.

Proprietary information — Use nonproprietary names for drugs, and descriptions for devices. Brand name may be mentioned only once within the text (upon first reference), unless essential to the study. For presentation of brand or trade names, include manufacturer's name, city, state and country within parentheses. Upon subsequent reference, use generic drug names or device descriptions only.

Disclosures — This required section must appear directly before the References. Research funding sources must be acknowledged, including corporate, grant, institutional, or departmental funds. If this does not apply, authors must state that no funding sources were provided. In this section, all authors must disclose any potential conflicts of interest, and must include a declaration statement if no conflicts exist. Conflicts include honoraria, travel to conferences, consultancies, stock ownership (excluding publicly owned mutual funds), equity interests, and patent-licensing arrangements (particularly if a commercial product is noted in the article).

Acknowledgments — This is optional. This section follows the Discussion and may be used by authors to thank contributors.

References — The reference list should appear at the end of the manuscript. The list must be in alphabetical order, according to the surname of the first author. In cases of multiple citations by the same first author, references should be listed by chronological date of the publication. In cases of multiple citations by the same first author and different second, third, etc. authors, references should be cited in alphabetical order according to the surname of the second, third, etc. authors. Within the text, papers should be cited using superscript numbers that correspond to the alphabetized reference list as follows: "Similar changes were demonstrated in the cingulate cortex.¹⁵" All authors must be listed in the references; the use of et al is not permitted. Journal abbreviations should conform to the style used in Index Medicus, National Library of Medicine. Unpublished data, personal communications, and abstracts that cannot be retrieved by readers (eg, some meeting abstracts), and other inaccessible materials should not be listed as references. Unpublished materials may be cited parenthetically within the text, noting the authors and the year in which the research was conducted. For manuscripts containing citations that are in press, authors must have electronic copies immediately available in case reviewers/ editors request these materials. If all or part of this research was presented in Abstract form at an American Pain Society annual meeting, please note this at the end of the Introduction and include the citation in the list of References, citing abstracts published in The Journal of Pain's annual meeting supplemental issue. For information on formatting a specific Abstract reference, contact the Editorial Office at jpain@jpain.us.

Citation examples:

Journal articles
Jensen MP, Hakimian S, Sherlin LH, Fregni F: New insights into neuromodulatory approaches for the treatment of pain. J Pain 9:193-199, 2008

Books/Published conference proceedings
Wall and Melzack's Textbook of Pain, 5th edition, Koltzenburg M, McMahon S (Eds.), Elsevier, Philadelphia, 2006.

Chapter/article in book
Gebhart GF, Bielefeldt K: Visceral Pain. In: The Senses: A Comprehensive Reference, Vol. 5, Pain (Bushnell, M.C. and Basbaum, A.I., Eds.), Academic Press, San Diego, 2008, pp. 543-570.

Software
SAS Institute. SAS/STAT software: Changes and enhancements through release 6.12. Cary, NC: SAS Institute, 1996

Supplement
Dworkin RH, Gnann JW, Oaklander AL, Raja SN, Schmader KE, Whitley RJ: Diagnosis and Assessment of Pain Associated with Herpes Zoster and Postherpetic Neuralgia. J Pain 9(Suppl 1):37-55, 2008

Epub Ahead of Print
Nielsen CS, Staud R, Price DD: Individual Differences in Pain Sensitivity: Measurement, Causation, and Consequences. J Pain 2009 Feb 8; [Epub ahead of print]

URL
The American Academy of Pain Medicine: The use of opioids for the treatment of chronic Pain: A Consensus Statement. Available at: http://www.painmed.org Accessed March 9, 2006

For other examples not listed here, please contact The Journal of Pain editorial office at jpain@jpain.us or at (319)430-4118.

Figure legends — A legend must be provided for each figure. Legends should be placed on the same page and hould appear in numerical order. Legends should be brief and not repetitive of description in the text.

Figures — All figures must be cited in the text; figures must be cited in consecutive order (this also applies to individual panels within figures). Computer-generated figures should use solid fills or cross-hatching, not tonal shading. Figure legends should be presented separately and placed in the manuscript after the list of references. Figure legends should be brief and not repetitive of description in the text. Color figures may be accepted but any cost related to print production is the responsibility of the author. However, authors who are members of the American Pain Society may qualify for complimentary production of essential color figures. Also, color figures may be published in the electronic version ofThe Journal at no cost to the authors, regardless of Instructions for Authors, Continued membership in the American Pain Society. Within figures, patients eyes must be masked unless authors receive patient permission. For a consent form, contact the Editorial Office at jpain@jpain.us.

TIFF and EPS are the preferred formats for artwork. All type fonts used in studio-created artwork must be either "embedded" in the file or supplied separately. All graphic files supplied as bitmap format (not vector format) in TIFF, JPEG, or GIF must be submitted in sufficiently high resolution (240-300 dpi for grayscale or color images and 600-1000 dpi for line art) to allow for printing. See Elsevier’s website for guidelines for preparing electronic artwork: http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions

Tables — All tables must be cited in the text; tables must be cited in consecutive order. Tables should be comprehensive without reference to the text and should not be repetitive of descriptions in the text. Every table should consist of two or more columns; tables with only one column will be treated as lists and incorporated into the text. Explanatory matter and source notations for borrowed or adapted tables should be placed in a table footnote, not in the title or table body.

Language-editing services — Authors who believe it may benefit their manuscripts are encouraged to consider the use of English language editing services prior to submission. Such services can help improve the language to ensure clarity for the review process, and help identify problems that can be corrected. Costs for editing services are borne by the authors; using this service does not guarantee a positive outcome in the review process. Authors may consider services such as those provided by Elsevier (http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/authorsview.authors/authorservices) Other language editing companies are also available.

Supplemental information — Supplemental digital materials may be submitted to appear online-only. Such content should be cited consecutively within the text, and can include documents, tables, figures, and audio or video materials.

Permissions — To use tables and figures borrowed or adapted from another source, authors must obtain permission from the copyright holder (usually the publisher). This is necessary even if you are the author of the borrowed material. It is essential to begin the process of obtaining permissions early; a delay may require removing the copyrighted material from the article. Give the source of a borrowed table in a footnote to the table; give the source of a borrowed figure in the legend of the figure. The source must also appear in the list of references. Use exact wording required by the copyright holder. Send copies of the letter granting permission, identified by table or figure number, to the Editorial Office via fax at (312) 275-7776.

To secure permission for materials published in The Journal of Pain, please visit www.elsevier.com/permissions.

Embargo policy — Accepted manuscripts are embargoed until The Journal's monthly mail date. Unauthorized release of materials before that date is expressly prohibited. For mail date information, contact the Editorial Office at HYP jpain@jpain.us.

Cover images — The Journal of Pain will publish appropriate images on the journal's cover. Selected figures may accompany a submitted manuscript (authors should make a note in the covering letter), or images may be submitted individually. Authors are encouraged to submit art for consideration; materials may be uploaded to http://ees.elsevier.com/jpain.

Submission of materials, etc. — Manuscripts must be submitted electronically (see directions at http://ees.elsevier.com/jpain/ ).

A Mandatory Submission Form must accompany all submissions. Authors are strongly encouraged to include the signed mandatory form as the final file when uploading new submissions. The form must be signed by all authors. Forms can also be emailed to the Editorial Office at jpain@jpain.us, or faxed to (312) 275-7776.

Accepted manuscripts — Page proofs will be sent via e-mail as a .pdf file. Authors are asked to return proofs within 48 hours by e-mail or fax. There are no author page charges for The Journal of Pain.

Note to NIH Grant Recipients: Articles accepted for publication from authors who have indicated that the underlying research reported in their articles was supported by an NIH grant will be sent by Elsevier to PubMed Central (PMC) for public access posting 12 months after final publication. The version of the article provided by Elsevier will be the final peer-reviewed manuscript that was accepted for publication and sent to Elsevier's production department, and which reflects 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 communication from the NIH with respect to the submission.

Reprints — For information about reprints, e-mail: authorsupport@elsevier.com.

Meeting announcements and press releases are not published in The Journal.

The Journal of Pain
jpain@jpain.us

Mark P. Jensen, PhD, Editor
The Journal of Pain
University of Washington
Rehabilitation Medicine
1959 NE Pacific Street
Box 356490
Seattle, WA 98195-6490

Special Features

Focus Articles/Critical Reviews — A Focus Article may present a hypothesis or state a position on a basic scientific or clinical topic related to pain. The position may be provocative, but must be based on scientific evidence, and referenced accordingly. A Review Article offers a summary of a topic and includes pertinent literature to present a position. These are not intended for the presentation of unpublished data. Authors wishing to submit a Focus Article or Critical Review should contact the editor (jpain@jpain.us). The title/topic of the article, a short outline of proposed content, and intended date of submission should be provided. Focus Articles will undergo the same rigorous review as unsolicited manuscripts of original research. Agreement of the editor to receive and consider an article does not imply acceptance.

Commentaries on Focus Articles/Critical Reviews — The editor may solicit commentaries on Focus Articles or Critical Reviews. Commentaries should be limited to less than 2000 words and are subject to editorial review.

Letters to the Editor — Letters to the Editor commenting on published items are encouraged. Letters should be double-spaced and limited to 500 words or less, though lengthier pieces may be approved by the Editor. The published item must be cited in the References section; authors should refer to The Journal's instructions for proper citation formatting. The letter will be shared with the author(s) of the original article, who will have the chance to respond. The Journal will also consider general letters relevant to the study or treatment of pain; these letters need not refer to a published article. The guidelines noted above also apply to standalone letters. All letters are subject to editorial review.

Meeting announcements and press releases are not published in The Journal of Pain.



Updated February 2012