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The Journal of Neuroscience Journal Club
The purpose of Journal Club articles is to provide scholarly reviews of papers recently published in The Journal of Neuroscience. Journal Club articles appear in the Features section at the front of each issue and are citable as a publication similar to a short review.
Requirements
Only current graduate students and postdoctoral fellows may submit Journal Club articles. We encourage submissions that represent a group effort, but all authors must be graduate students or post-docs.
The article to be reviewed must have been published within the past 2 months in The Journal of Neuroscience, must not have been reviewed in another Journal Club submission, and should not have been featured in This Week in the Journal. Authors are encouraged to JN_Features{at}sfn.org to be sure another Journal Club is not being written about the same article.
Authors of Journal Club submissions are subject to the same guidelines as reviewers concerning conflict of interest. In particular, they should not be from the same institution or have any real or apparent conflict of interest with the authors of the article. For more details, see: http://www.sfn.org/index.cfm?pagename=responsibleConduct.
Content and Format
The format follows that of journal club presentations in neuroscience departments. We expect that authors of Journal Clubs will be working on a topic related to that of the reviewed paper, and thus will be familiar with the experimental approach. We encourage critical reviews, but comments must be accurate, well-reasoned, and diplomatic. Inappropriately harsh or glowing reviews will not be considered.
In general, Journal Club articles should have three components: a short overview of the background of the reviewed paper, a critical data-based review of the key findings, and a brief summary of the significance of the paper. The Journal Club must offer more than a summary of what was stated in the original article. For example, it might provide a more in-depth explanation of a new technique used in the paper, important caveats or interpretations that the author did not mention, or a distinct interpretation of the results in the context of work that the author did not discuss (e.g., important findings published in the last couple of months). The Journal Club should focus on the most important results — there is rarely reason to discuss every figure.
Journal Club submissions must be concise. The length is limited to about 1500 words. References are limited to approximately 7.
Journal Club articles should be written in a style that is understandable to all readers of The Journal of Neuroscience. Avoid using jargon and unnecessary abbreviations.
Titles should be informative; the Journal discourages word play.
A single, original schematic or explanatory figure is acceptable. The figure caption must appear in the main document, after the references. Do not duplicate figures that were in the reviewed paper —links to any figures you cite will be placed in the published Journal Club. In the text, refer to the cited figures with the author’s name, e.g., “(Author et al., Figure 1A)”.
A title page should be included with your submission. The title page should include: Journal Club title, citation of article being reviewed, list of Journal Club authors, author affiliations (universities/research institutes etc.; for graduate students, the affiliation should be listed as the Graduate Program or Department), corresponding author, corresponding author's contact information (address, phone, and email address), abbreviated title, keywords (a minimum of six), and acknowledgments (optional).
Review Procedures
Submissions will be reviewed by the editors for accuracy and appropriateness, and may be sent for external review. Submissions requiring more than minor revisions will not be accepted because of the time constraints.
The authors of the paper that is reviewed will allowed to read the Journal Club before publication. If the authors choose to reply, their response will be linked to the published Journal Club.
The most common reasons for rejection of a Journal Club submission are failure to provide sufficiently novel insights and failure to provide a cogent and concise explanation of those insights. The editors reserve the right to balance acceptances among topics and institutions.
Due to the large volume of submissions, we do not provide detailed reviews of Journal Club articles that are not accepted for publication. Decisions on the acceptability of Journal Clubs are not subject to appeal.
Submission Instructions
Journal Clubs must be submitted through the Journal of Neuroscience submission site. They do not require a submission fee. In using the on-line submission site, please follow these instructions:
1. Indicate JOURNAL CLUB as the “Manuscript Type”
2. Select FEATURE EDITOR as the “Manuscript Section”
3. Place the words “Journal Club” in the box intended for abstracts (do not submit an abstract).
4. If you are prompted to pay the submission fee, do not enter payment information. Instead, please contact the Central Office (jn{at}sfn.org) just before submission so this fee can be waived.
For questions, please JN_Features{at}sfn.org.
The Journal of Neuroscience Tool Box
Toolboxes appear in the Features section at the front of each issue. Their purpose is to provide a brief review and evaluation of a neuroscience method or technology that is becoming of wide relevance. Articles describing a resource of general use in neuroscience or critically analyzing established approaches or methods will also be presented.
The editors generally solicit submissions for Toolbox articles. Submissions are screened by the editors, and may be sent for review. Authors wishing to contribute unsolicited submissions should JNeurosci{at}hms.harvard.edu before preparing a manuscript.
Format
Toolbox submissions must be concise. The length is limited to two printed pages, approximately 1000 words. One or more schematic or explanatory figures are recommended. References are limited to ten or fewer.
Toolboxes have no abstract, but the introductory section should begin with a concise explanation of the topic to be addressed. The material should be presented in terms that are accessible to a general neuroscientist without reference to other papers.
Submission Requirements
Manuscripts must be submitted through The Journal of Neuroscience submission site, but do not require payment of a submission fee. In using the online submission site, please follow these instructions:
1. Indicate Toolbox as the Manuscript Type.
2. Select Features Editor as the Manuscript Section.
3. Enter “Toolbox” in the box intended for abstracts (in lieu of an abstract).
4. If you are prompted to pay the submission fee, do not enter payment information. Instead, please contact the Central Office (jn{at}sfn.org) immediately before submission so the submission fee can be waived.Review Procedures
Submissions will be screened by the editors for accuracy and appropriateness, and may be sent for review. Submissions requiring more than minor revisions will not be accepted for publication. It is expected that Toolbox articles will be published within six weeks of initial submission.
Conflict of Interest
Authors of Tool Box submissions are subject to the same guidelines as authors of articles concerning conflict of interest, financial or otherwise. Any apparent conflicts of interest should be noted in the Acknowledgements. For more details, see: http://www.sfn.org/index.cfm?pagename=responsibleConduct.
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