INSTRUCTIONS FOR AUTHORS
GENERAL INFORMATION
Acta Neurobiologiae Experimentalis publishes original brain research papers. The language of the journal is English in the American spelling and usage. It should be noted that all submitted manuscripts must be concisely written.
Reports of five categories of articles are accepted:
research papers;
technical communications;
review articles;
theoretical articles;
short communications.
POLICY ISSUES
Copyright
Acta Neurobiologiae Experimentalis publishes original works only. The authors must complete and sign ANE Copyright Assignment and send it to the Editorial Office immediately after final acceptance of the article. If a submitted manuscript contains previously published material, the authors should obtain the copyright holder/previous publisher’s permission to republish this material, both in print and on-line.
Ethical policies
For studies using human subjects, manuscripts must be accompanied by a statement that the experiments were conducted with the understanding and written consent of each subject. The authors should be aware of the Code of Ethics of the World Medical Association (available at: http://www.wma.net/en/30publications/10policies/c8/). If the Authors received written approval of an Ethics Committee for conducting the research, it should be cited.
For studies using animal subjects, the methods section should clearly indicate that adequate measures were taken to minimize pain or discomfort of animals. Experiments should be conducted in accordance with the Directive 2010/63/Eu of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 September 2010 on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes (available at: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2010:276:0033:0079:en:PDF) or with the Guidelines of the U.S. Public Health Service and NIH regarding the care and use of animals for experimentation. If in the country where the research was done it is legally obligatory that researchers should obtain permission from an appropriate authority before performing the experiments, it should be stated in the “Methods” section that such permission was obtained. The editors reserve the right to reject a manuscript if there are doubts about whether ethically appropriate experimental procedures were used.
SUBMISSION PROCEDURE
On-line submission
An article should be submitted on-line only at webpage: www.ane.pl. It should be submitted as separate files: cover letter, text with tables and figure captions and illustrations in TIFF format.
Please do not import any graphics or tables into the text file! MS Word or RTF format for the text file is required.
ORGANIZATION OF THE MANUSCRIPT
Original research papers
The manuscript of a research paper should be organized according to the following order of headings:
Title, name, affiliation, address and running title
Abstract and key words
Introduction
Methods
Results
Discussion
Conclusion(s)
Acknowledgment(s)
References
Tables (on separate pages)
Figure captions (on separate page)
Manuscripts submitted as research papers should have at least 20,000 characters (Title page, Reference list and Figures captions not included).
Title, name, affiliation, and running title
The first page of the manuscript should contain the following information: title of the manuscript, name(s) of the author(s) with full first name(s), departmental and institutional affiliation(s), and address(es). An email address of the corresponding author should be indicated. Multiple authors having different affiliations may be linked to their respective affiliations through the use of numerical superscripts. The title should be a succinct description of the work reported containing the subject species used in the experiments and be no more than 150 characters in length. A running title of no more than 45 characters should be included.
Abstract and key words
The second page of the manuscript should contain the abstract, a brief description of the contents of the manuscript that should not exceed 1800 characters with spaces. The abstract page should be titled with the word “abstract” followed by a single, non-indented paragraph of the abstract itself. References and numerical statistical values are not usually permitted in the abstract. Only very obvious abbreviations are permitted without definition in the abstract (e.g. CNS, EEG). A list of key words suitable for indexing should be typed below the abstract.
Introduction
On the page following that of the abstract the main body of the paper should begin with an introduction to the empirical work. The purpose of the introduction is to explain the rationale or justification of the work described in the manuscript. It should present convincing evidence that the study was worth doing and the approach to the problem is valid. Extensive reviews of literature in the Introduction are usually not appropriate. Only those reports of experiments and theories that are directly related to the variables investigated in the manuscript should be cited.
Methods
This section immediately follows the Introduction and should be titled with the word “Methods”. The methods section should clearly convey the exact empirical strategy so that a competent and knowledgeable reader could replicate the study. If the methods section is brief, all description of the empirical manipulations may be combined. However, this section may be divided into parts subtitled “Subjects”, “Apparatus”, “Reagents” and “Procedures”. When describing the subject organisms used in the experiment, their species, race or strain, number, sex and age should be indicated. Weight and any general conditions relating to their housing or maintenance may be also indicated, if necessary. Only critical equipment used in both collection and preliminary analyses of the presented data should be identified by name, manufacturer and model number. Description of procedures should clearly indicate the sequence of empirical events. The independent and dependent variables should be defined and their units indicated using the International System of Units (SI) – see Barry N. Taylor “Guide for the Use of the International System of Units (SI)” available at: http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/pdf/sp811.pdf. Particular methods of scaling or mathematical transformations should be specified, and a brief statement of the type of statistical analysis should be included.
Results
This section immediately follows the Methods and should be titled with the word “Results”. All measurements should be expressed according to the SI System, except when exceptions are permitted by conventions concerning specific areas. The results section should present the essential, objective results with discussion limited to necessary explications of the findings. Subdivision of this section is permitted when complex data and/or analyses warrant. However, the manner of subdivision should follow a coherent scheme, such as procedural sequence or various types of dependent measures. The use of figures and tables should be selective, and careful consideration should insure that obvious or redundant findings are not included among figures, tables and text. Significant statistical results should be integrated within the narrative. Analysis of variance tables are usually not acceptable unless extremely complex analyses are reported. The author should show the approximate place for figures and tables by indicating with a pencil the figure or table number in the left hand margin or through the use of other appropriate directions within the text.
The report of statistical information should be guided by the following rules:
1) It is suggested that statistically significant findings include the name of the statistical test, the degrees of freedom and the confidence level of the Type I error. Indicating the degrees of freedom by subscripts, the format for statistical data should be as follows:
(t14=5.83, P<0.01)
(F3,92=4.31, P<0.001)
Note that the letter of the test (e.g., t, F) and the probability symbol (P) are italicized in the journal.
2) If the statistical test is non-significant, simply state that it was not significant so that the reader is given a report of the complete experimental design.
For example, if the main effects in a two-way analysis of variance are significant, but the interaction is not, it is critical to give not only the values of the significant effect, but also a statement that their interaction was not significant.
Authors of ablation, injection and registration studies must provide figures showing reconstructions of the area involved.
Discussion
This section immediately follows the Results and is titled with the word “Discussion”. It is rarely divided into subsections. The discussion should indicate the extent to which the results confirmed predictions based upon the previous literature reviewed in the introduction section. Accordingly, the discussion should be limited to those empirical and theoretical issues for which data are provided.
Conclusion(s)
This section immediately follows the Discussion. Summarize major findings of the study and their practical usefulness.
Acknowledgement(s)
Acknowledgement(s) of assistance in aspects of the research should be given after the discussion and be clearly labeled. A statement describing the source of financial support may then be indicated, if appropriate.
References
This section should begin on a new page, titled with the word “References”, and only those references that were cited in the text should be listed. Please do not use periods after authors’ initials! Reference list should contain only articles published or in press. Citing unpublished data or submitted manuscripts is allowed only in the text, if phrase “unpublished results” is provided in parentheses, e.g., Jones and Smith (unpublished results). Articles, books and book chapters are alphabetized by the first author’s surname in the reference section. The following are correct citation forms.
Journal articles
Journal names are abbreviated according to Medline standard (see PubMed for appropriate abbreviation of journal names).
Kundrotiene J, Wägner A, Liljequist S (2004) Fluoro-Jade and TUNEL staining as useful tools to identify ischemic brain damage following moderate extradural compression of sensorimotor cortex. Acta Neurobiol Exp (Wars) 64(2): 153–162.
Salehi A, Swaab DF (1999) Diminished neuronal metabolic activity in Alzheimer’s disease. J Neural Transm (Vienna) 106(9–10): 955–986.
Book chapters
Note that the page numbers of the relevant chapters are indicated.
Skangiel-Kramska J (2001) Glutamatergic and GABAergic systems in the adult barrel cortex plasticity. In: Plasticity of Adult Barrel Cortex (Kossut M, Ed.). FP Graham Publishing Co., Johnson City, USA, p. 199–225.
Book
Katzman R, Bick K (2000) Alzheimer Disease: The Changing View. Academic Press, San Diego, CA.
Non-English literature
When citing literature written in a language other than English, the title of the article should be translated into English and the original language shown in parentheses.
Velasco F, Gomez J, Zarranz J, Lambarri I, Ugalde J (2004) Asterixis in focal brain lesions (in Spanish). Neurologia 19(4): 225–229.
Non-Roman alphabet
When citing literature written in a language employing a non-Roman alphabet, the title of the article should be translated into English and the original language shown in parentheses. Book titles should remain in the original language, but transformed into the Roman alphabet.
Asratyan EA (1966) Certain problems of functional architecture of complex electrodefense motor conditioned reflexes (in Russian). In: Nervnye mekhanizmy dvigatelnoi deyatelnosti (Astratyan EA, Ed.). Izdat. Nauka, Moscow, ZSRR, p. 329–338.
Podvigin NF, Makarov FN, Shelepin YuE (1986) Elementy strukturno-funktsionalnoj organizatsii zritelno-glazodvigatelnoj sistemy. Izdat. Nauka, Leningrad, ZSRR.
Citations
Citations are referenced in the text in brackets by indicating author’s last name and year of the publication, e.g.: (Skangiel-Kramska 2001). There should be no comma between the author’s surname and date of publication.
If there is two authors there should be their both last names with word “and” in between, e.g.: (Katzman and Bick 2000).
And if there is more than two authors only last name of the first one should be indicated followed by “et al.”, e.g.: (Kundrotiene et al. 2004).
If in one citation there is more than one publication, they should be separated by coma, e.g.: (Asratyan 1966, Podvigin et al. 1986, Salehi and Swaab 1999)
Tables
Only unique information, carefully selected, should be included in a table. All tables should be visually simple and easy to read, and extra lines blocking off a table from the text should be omitted. Column and row labels should be clear and easy to understand by the reader. Tables are ordered by Roman numerals (e.g. Table III). The table caption appears below the table. Each table is prepared on a separate page.
Figures
Electronic version of the figures should be submitted in the format described below (see “Manuscript preparation. Technical Requirements”).
To defray the costs of printing color illustrations, Acta Neurobiologiae Experimentalis charges the authors 200 euro per each printed page containing a color figure.
Figures may present data in the most clear and dramatic fashion, but care should be taken that the type size, especially in descriptions of the scales of axes, is appropriate for the size of the figure. Figures should be simple and uncluttered to have the greatest effect. Axis labels should be brief and clear, of the same typesetting throughout the paper and the scaling should be obvious to the reader.
Figure captions
All figure captions are listed successively with Arabic numbers. Each caption should contain a clear description (in coherent and not telegraphic English) of the function contained in the figure.
Following this brief description, definitions of the symbols used in the figure should be given. It is preferred that definitions of symbols and functions be given in the caption rather than in the figure.
If the figure contains several parts (e.g., multiple panels), the respective descriptions of each part must be clearly distinguished, e.g.:
Fig. 1. Title. This figure shows: (A) histogram of the variable; (B) function of the variable as in (A).
Note that the definition of symbols should follow the following form:
Structures: (ENL) left entorhinal cortex; (HVL) left ventral hippocampus.
Authors should take care that figures are self-explanatory to the extent possible.
Heading options
The major headings and subheadings listed above may be modified to accommodate multiple experiment manuscripts.
For example, when two experiments are reported, but a general introduction and discussion are common to both experiments, the main body of the report could be changed to the following:
General introduction
Experiment I
Introduction
Method
Results
Discussion
Experiment II
Introduction
Method
Results
Discussion
General discussion
Conclusion(s)
Acknowledgement(s)
References
Tables
Figures and figure caption(s)
Short communications and technical communications
Short communication presents brief reports of very important findings that require urgent publication, written in concise form. Acta Neurobiologiae Experimentalis publishes short communications only, if they present new data that are important for the interpretation of broader phenomena or if they reveal unexpected correlations of various sets of data. Manuscripts accepted for publication as short communications should have at least 14,000 characters (Title page, Reference list and Figure captions are not included), and may contain maximum 3 illustrations.
Technical communications describes new methods or technology with scientific application.
Both short communications and technical communications should be organized similarly to research papers. However, they should not be divided into separate sections with headings.
Review articles
Manuscript submitted as a review paper should describe, summarize and discuss results of recent publications on an important problem that had not been reviewed elsewhere. It should come to conclusions concerning investigated phenomena and/or experimental methods, raise questions and propose new hypotheses. Typically, more than 50 papers should be reviewed in the manuscript that should have at least 10,000 characters (Title page and Reference list not included).
Manuscript of a review paper should be organized according to the following order of headings:
Title, name, affiliation, address and running title
Abstract and key words
Introduction
Titles of parts of the review appropriate for the reviewed problems or methods
Conclusion(s)
Acknowledgment(s)
References
Tables (on separate pages)
Other technical requirements as in the Research papers.
Theoretical articles;
Manuscript submitted as a theoretical paper should summarize and discuss results of recent publications on an important problem and propose a new and important hypothesis or theory. Basing on the hypothesis it should predict new phenomena and propose how to verify/falsify the hypothesis. Typically, it should have at least 10,000 characters (Title page and Reference list not included).
Manuscript of a theoretical paper should be organized according to the following order of headings:
Title, name, affiliation, address and running title
Abstract and key words
Introduction
Titles of parts of the manuscript appropriate for the defined problem(s), proposed hypothesis and their experimental tests.
Conclusion(s)
Acknowledgment(s)
References
Optional tables and/or figures (on separate pages)
Other technical requirements as in the Research papers.
MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION – TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS
Text
All manuscripts should be typed using Times New Roman (12 p) font with 1.5 spacing. The margins should be 25 mm at the top, bottom and right-hand side, and at least 30 mm on the left-hand side. Beginning with the title page as page 1, all typed pages should be consecutively numbered.
Each paragraph should start at the extreme left (do not introduce Tab or spaces) and end with Enter. Use single spacing between words and unjustified right-hand margins.
Authors should avoid the use of unnecessary abbreviations and all abbreviations must be defined in the text.
Italic print is reserved for non-English (Greek, Latin) phrases (e.g., in vivo, per se, via, versus), including names of species (Bufo viridis), and for the names of genes (c-fos, fos-B).
Please do not use numberings, bullets, underline, bold or italic print in the text for indicating important fragments of the article!
Authors whose first language is other than English are strongly recommended to examine scientific style guides designed for English scientific expression.
Figures
Preparing figures for publishing purposes
Only TIF formats will be accepted. Illustrations for publishing purposes cannot be prepared in MS Word. Only tables should be prepared in MS Word. Kindly prepare each illustration in accordance to the ANE page size. Each illustration should fit a single- or double-column format on the journal page.
Height Width
Single column 20 cm (max) 8.5 cm (max)
Double column 20 cm (max) 17.5 cm (max)
All labels should be written using Times New Roman or Arial font (at least 10 p). When using other fonts, please save them as curved. Please do not use lines thinner than 0.1 p. Grayscale and color arts, for fighter PC and Mac, must be submitted in TIFF format. JPEG format will not be accepted. When preparing color graphics always use CMYK format. In case you have to use a scanned illustration, we strongly recommend scanning on a high-quality scanner of optical density over 3.3. When supplying TIFF files, please ensure that files are supplied at the correct resolution. Line artwork (without halftone dots) should be produced at a minimum of 600 dpi. Halftone and/or color artwork – at a minimum 300 dpi. In case of combination artwork (line/tone/color), illustration should be produced at 500 dpi.
Proofs
A galley proof of the accepted article will be sent via email to the corresponding author; authors’ corrections should be sent back within 72 hours. Otherwise the article will be published without authors’ final approval.
