Journal of Neuroendocrinology
The Journal of Neuroendocrinology, first published in 1989, is an academic journal that mainly publishes reports of original research in the field of neuroendocrinology, along with occasional review articles; it claims to provide “the principal international focus for the newest ideas in classical neuroendocrinology (vertebrate and invertebrate) and its expanding interface with the regulation of behavioural, cognitive, developmental, degenerative and metabolic processes.” [1]. The impact factor of the Journal in 2011 was 4.65.
History of the Journal
The Journal is owned and managed by the British Society for Neuroendocrinology (BSN), and published on its behalf by Blackwell Publishing. It is now also an official journal of the European Neuroendocrine Association and of the International Neuroendocrine Federation. Profits from the journal are used mainly to support international conferences in neuroendocrinology. The editor-in-chief is appointed by the committee of the BSN, and reports to the committee and membership of the BSN. The journal has an internationally diverse editorial board, of more than 30 members.
Professor Stafford Lightman of the University of Bristol was the first Editor-in-chief. He was succeeded by Professor Gareth Leng of the University of Edinburgh (from 1997 to 2004) by Professor Julia Buckingham of Imperial College, London from 2004-2008, and from 2009 by Professor Dave Grattan of Otago Medical School, New Zealand.
Editorial policies
Customary peer-review policies for scientific journals are followed. When a manuscript is submitted to The Journal, it sent for review to two or three independent experts, often including members of the editorial board. Decisions on whether to accept the manuscript are made by the Editor in Chief or her nominated Deputies in the light of the referees' reports. Even when a manuscript is considered fundamentally acceptable, the expert reviewers usually give many comments or criticisms, and the author is expected to revise the manuscript accordingly. The author receives copies of these reports, but without their names.
Review articles are usually written at the invitation of the Editor, and are also peer reviewed. The journal also publishes brief review articles by young investigators and occasional short articles written for a lay audience.
Current status of the Journal
The Journal is available by library or personal subscription, but free online access is available within institutions in the developing world through the HINARI initiative with the World Health Organization (WHO). Authors pay no page charges, but can make their articles open access and freely available by paying an author fee.
The journal currently publishes 12 issues per year, with about ten papers in each.
Print ISSN: 0953-8194 Online ISSN: 1365-2826