Behavioral Neuroscience^®

The primary mission of Behavioral Neuroscience^® is to publish original research articles as well as reviews in the broad field of the neural bases of behavior.

We seek empirical papers reporting novel results that provide insight into the mechanisms by which nervous systems produce and are affected by behavior. Experimental subjects may include human and non-human animals and may address any phase of the lifespan, from early development to senescence.

Studies employing brain-imaging techniques in normal and pathological human populations are encouraged, as are studies using non-traditional species (including invertebrates) and employing comparative analyses. Studies using computational approaches to understand behavior and cognition are particularly encouraged.

In addition to behavior, it is expected that some aspect of nervous system function will be manipulated or observed, ranging across molecular, cellular, neuroanatomical, neuroendocrinological, neuropharmacological, and neurophysiological levels of analysis. Behavioral studies are welcome so long as their implications for our understanding of the nervous system are clearly described in the paper.

We welcome reviews on any theoretical, empirical, or historical topic related to the role of the nervous system in the production of behavior. Inquiries about potential review topics can be addressed to the Editor.

In addition to full-length research papers, the journal also publishes Brief Communications, which must not exceed 3,250 words of text and contain no more than two figures and/or tables. When appropriate, Commentaries on research papers are invited by the editors.

Topic areas covered by the journal include:

• learning and memory, attention, decision making
• perception, spatial cognition, sensorimotor processing and integration
• human and non-human animal cognition and emotion
• molecular, cellular, and circuit level analyses of behavior and cognition
• motivation, reward, homeostasis and biorhythms
• animal models of psychopathology, addiction, and neurodegenerative disorders
• developmental and lifespan analyses

Editor

Rebecca D. Burwell
Brown University

Associate Editors

Mark G. Baxter
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Elizabeth A. Buffalo
University of Washington

Michael J. Frank
Brown University

Cynthia F. Moss
Johns Hopkins University

Geoffrey Schoenbaum

Assistant Managing Editor

Svetlana Efremova

Consulting Editors

Ted G. Abel
University of Pennsylvania

John P. Aggleton
Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom

Cristina M. Alberini
New York University

Jeffrey R. Alberts
Indiana University

Jocelyne Bachevalier
Emory University

David Badre
Brown University

Bernard W. Balleine
University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia

Moshe Bar
Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel

Carol A. Barnes
University of Arizona

Michael J. Baum
Boston University

Kent C. Berridge
University of Michigan

Mark S. Blumberg
University of Iowa

Mark E. Bouton
University of Vermont

Robert S. Bridges
Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine

David J. Bucci
Dartmouth College

Regina M. Carelli
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Frances A. Champagne
Columbia University

Lique M. Coolen
University of Mississippi Medical Center

Alice Cronin-Golomb
Boston University

Nathaniel D. Daw
New York University

Peter Dayan
University College, London, England, United Kingdom

Michael W. Decker
AbbVie, Inc., North Chicago

John F. Disterhoft
Northwestern University

Juan M. Dominguez
University of Texas at Austin

Howard E. Eichenbaum
Boston University

Amelia J. Eisch
University of Texas at Dallas

Michael S. Fanselow
University of California, Los Angeles

Stan B. Floresco
University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

John H. Freeman
University of Iowa

Karyn M. Frick
University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee

Stephen C. Gammie
University of Wisconsin, Madison

Asif A. Ghazanfar
Princeton University

Paul E. Gold
Syracuse University

Katalin M. Gothard
Arizona Health Sciences Center, Tucson

Thomas J. Gould
Temple University

James W. Grau
Texas A&M University

Amy Griffin
University of Delaware

Patricia Sue Grigson
Pennsylvania State University

Michael E. Hasselmo
Boston University

Fred J. Helmstetter
University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee

Peter C. Holland
Johns Hopkins University

Alicia Izquierdo
University of California, Los Angeles

J. David Jentsch
University of California, Los Angeles

Theresa A. Jones
University of Texas at Austin

Janice M. Juraska
University of Illinois, Champaign

Leslie M. Kay
University of Chicago

Raymond P. Kesner
University of Utah

Jeansok J. Kim
University of Washington

Bryan E. Kolb
University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada

Kevin S. LaBar
Duke University

K. Matt Lattal
Oregon Health & Science University

Michael A. Leon
University of California, Irvine

Shih-Chieh Lin
National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, Maryland

Christiane Linster
Cornell University

Joseph S. Lonstein
Michigan State University

Carmen S. Maldonado-Vlaar
University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico

Ludise Malkova
Georgetown University Medical Center

Athina Markou
University of California, San Diego

Bruce S. McEwen
Rockefeller University

James L. McGaugh
University of California, Irvine

Gavin P. McNally
University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Sheri J. Y. Mizumori
University of Washington

Lisa Monteggia
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

Mark B. Moss
Boston University School of Medicine

Elisabeth A. Murray
National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Maryland

Randy J. Nelson
Wexner Medical Center at Ohio State University

Yael Niv
Princeton University

Ralph E. Norgren
Pennsylvania State University

John P. O'Doherty
Caltech Brain Imaging Center, Pasadena, California

Richard Paylor
Baylor College of Medicine

James G. Pfaus
Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Jelena Radulovic
Northwestern University

Michael E. Ragozzino
University of Illinois at Chicago

Catharine H. Rankin
University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Peter R. Rapp
National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, Maryland

Stephen Reilly
University of Illinois at Chicago

Rick Richardson
University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Trevor W. Robbins
University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England, United Kingdom

Martin F. Sarter
University of Michigan

Bernard G. Schreurs
West Virginia University

Tracey J. Shors
Rutgers University

Steven J. Siegel
University of Pennsylvania

Linda P. Spear
Binghamton University

Mark E. Stanton
University of Delaware

Chantal E. Stern
Boston University

Neal R. Swerdlow
UCSD School of Medicine

Susan E. Swithers
Purdue University

Michael Tarr
Carnegie Mellon University

Jeffrey S. Taube
Dartmouth College

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Prior to submission, please carefully read and follow the submission guidelines detailed below. Manuscripts that do not conform to the submission guidelines may be returned without review.

Submission

Behavioral Neuroscience^® is a member of the Neuroscience Peer Review Consortium.

Submit manuscripts electronically through the Manuscript Submission Portal.

General correspondence may be directed to the Editorial Office.

The manuscript file for new submissions or revisions should include the text, tables, and figures; should be in Word (.doc), Rich Text Format (.rtf) or PDF formats; and should not exceed 20MB.

In addition to addresses and phone numbers, please supply email addresses for potential use by the Editorial Office and later by the Production Office.

Behavioral Neuroscience is a bimonthly, peer-reviewed journal that publishes original research articles in the broad field of the neural bases of behavior. A detailed description of the editorial coverage policy appears on the inside of the front cover of each issue.

In addition to full-length research papers, commentaries and reviews are published. The journal also publishes brief communications; such papers must not exceed 3,250 words of text, with no more than two figures and/or tables.

Submission Letter

Include the following in your submission letter:

• A statement of compliance with APA ethical standards in the treatment of your sample, human or animal, or a description of the details of the treatment.
• A statement that the manuscript or data have not been published previously and that they are not under consideration for publication elsewhere.
• A statement to reflect that all listed authors have contributed significantly to the manuscript and consent to their names on the manuscript.
• A statement to disclose any possible conflict of interest in the conduct and reporting of research (e.g., financial interests in a test or procedure, funding by pharmaceutical companies for drug research).

Authors are encouraged to suggest five reviewers who are especially qualified to review their work and would not have a conflict of interest serving as a referee.

Review Policy

Masked reviews are optional, and authors who wish masked reviews must specifically request them when submitting their manuscripts.

Each copy of a manuscript to be mask-reviewed should include a separate title page with authors' names and affiliations, and these should not appear anywhere else on the manuscript. Footnotes that identify the authors should be typed on a separate page.

Authors should make every effort to see that the manuscript itself contains no clues to their identities.

If your manuscript was mask reviewed, please ensure that the final version for production includes a byline and full author note for typesetting.

Abbreviations and Metrics

Nonstandard abbreviations should be introduced by placing the abbreviation in parentheses after the first occurrence of the term being abbreviated in both the abstract and the text. The metric system should be followed for all volumes, lengths, weights, and so on. Temperatures should be expressed in degrees Celsius (centigrade). Units should conform to the International System of Units (SI; see the Publication Manual).

Revisions

Revised manuscripts are processed electronically and should also be uploaded through the Manuscript Submission Portal. Manuscripts need not be accompanied by a copy of the original version. Revisions not returned within 2 months of the last action date will be treated as a new submission.

Proofs

All proofs must be corrected and returned within 48 hours of receipt. Any extensive nonessential changes and extensive changes due to author error may incur charges.

With the proofs will be a form providing the author with the opportunity to order reprints. Direct inquiries to the APA Journals Office can be made at 202-336-5540; fax 202-336-5549.

Manuscript Preparation

Prepare manuscripts according to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6^th edition). Manuscripts may be copyedited for bias-free language (see Chapter 3 of the Publication Manual).

Review APA's Checklist for Manuscript Submission before submitting your article.

Double-space all copy. Other formatting instructions, as well as instructions on preparing tables, figures, references, metrics, and abstracts, appear in the Manual.

Below are additional instructions regarding the preparation of display equations, computer code, and tables.

Display Equations

We strongly encourage you to use MathType (third-party software) or Equation Editor 3.0 (built into pre-2007 versions of Word) to construct your equations, rather than the equation support that is built into Word 2007 and Word 2010. Equations composed with the built-in Word 2007/Word 2010 equation support are converted to low-resolution graphics when they enter the production process and must be rekeyed by the typesetter, which may introduce errors.

To construct your equations with MathType or Equation Editor 3.0:

• Go to the Text section of the Insert tab and select Object.
• Select MathType or Equation Editor 3.0 in the drop-down menu.

If you have an equation that has already been produced using Microsoft Word 2007 or 2010 and you have access to the full version of MathType 6.5 or later, you can convert this equation to MathType by clicking on MathType Insert Equation. Copy the equation from Microsoft Word and paste it into the MathType box. Verify that your equation is correct, click File, and then click Update. Your equation has now been inserted into your Word file as a MathType Equation.

Use Equation Editor 3.0 or MathType only for equations or for formulas that cannot be produced as Word text using the Times or Symbol font.

Computer Code

Because altering computer code in any way (e.g., indents, line spacing, line breaks, page breaks) during the typesetting process could alter its meaning, we treat computer code differently from the rest of your article in our production process. To that end, we request separate files for computer code.

In Online Supplemental Material
We request that runnable source code be included as supplemental material to the article. For more information, visit Supplementing Your Article With Online Material.

In the Text of the Article
If you would like to include code in the text of your published manuscript, please submit a separate file with your code exactly as you want it to appear, using Courier New font with a type size of 8 points. We will make an image of each segment of code in your article that exceeds 40 characters in length. (Shorter snippets of code that appear in text will be typeset in Courier New and run in with the rest of the text.) If an appendix contains a mix of code and explanatory text, please submit a file that contains the entire appendix, with the code keyed in 8-point Courier New.

Tables

Use Word's Insert Table function when you create tables. Using spaces or tabs in your table will create problems when the table is typeset and may result in errors.

Submitting Supplemental Materials

APA can place supplemental materials online, available via the published article in the PsycARTICLES^® database. Please see Supplementing Your Article With Online Material for more details.

Abstract and Keywords

All manuscripts must include an abstract containing a maximum of 250 words typed on a separate page. After the abstract, please supply up to five keywords or brief phrases.

References

List references in alphabetical order. Each listed reference should be cited in text, and each text citation should be listed in the References section.

Examples of basic reference formats:

• Journal Article:
  Hughes, G., Desantis, A., & Waszak, F. (2013). Mechanisms of intentional binding and sensory attenuation: The role of temporal prediction, temporal control, identity prediction, and motor prediction. Psychological Bulletin, 139, 133–151. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0028566
• Authored Book:
  Rogers, T. T., & McClelland, J. L. (2004). Semantic cognition: A parallel distributed processing approach. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
• Chapter in an Edited Book:
  Gill, M. J., & Sypher, B. D. (2009). Workplace incivility and organizational trust. In P. Lutgen-Sandvik & B. D. Sypher (Eds.), Destructive organizational communication: Processes, consequences, and constructive ways of organizing (pp. 53–73). New York, NY: Taylor & Francis.

Figures

Graphics files are welcome if supplied as Tiff or EPS files. Multipanel figures (i.e., figures with parts labeled a, b, c, d, etc.) should be assembled into one file.

The minimum line weight for line art is 0.5 point for optimal printing.

For more information about acceptable resolutions, fonts, sizing, and other figure issues, please see the general guidelines.

When possible, please place symbol legends below the figure instead of to the side.

APA offers authors the option to publish their figures online in color without the costs associated with print publication of color figures.

The same caption will appear on both the online (color) and print (black and white) versions. To ensure that the figure can be understood in both formats, authors should add alternative wording (e.g., "the red (dark gray) bars represent") as needed.

For authors who prefer their figures to be published in color both in print and online, original color figures can be printed in color at the editor's and publisher's discretion provided the author agrees to pay:

• $900 for one figure
• An additional $600 for the second figure
• An additional $450 for each subsequent figure

Permissions

Authors of accepted papers must obtain and provide to the editor on final acceptance all necessary permissions to reproduce in print and electronic form any copyrighted work, including test materials (or portions thereof), photographs, and other graphic images (including those used as stimuli in experiments).

On advice of counsel, APA may decline to publish any image whose copyright status is unknown.

• Download Permissions Alert Form (PDF, 13KB)

Publication Policies

APA policy prohibits an author from submitting the same manuscript for concurrent consideration by two or more publications.

See also APA Journals^® Internet Posting Guidelines.

APA requires authors to reveal any possible conflict of interest in the conduct and reporting of research (e.g., financial interests in a test or procedure, funding by pharmaceutical companies for drug research).

• Download Disclosure of Interests Form (PDF, 38KB)

Authors of accepted manuscripts are required to transfer the copyright to APA.

• For manuscripts not funded by the Wellcome Trust or the Research Councils UK
  Publication Rights (Copyright Transfer) Form (PDF, 83KB)
• For manuscripts funded by the Wellcome Trust or the Research Councils UK
  Wellcome Trust or Research Councils UK Publication Rights Form (PDF, 34KB)

Ethical Principles

It is a violation of APA Ethical Principles to publish "as original data, data that have been previously published" (Standard 8.13).

In addition, APA Ethical Principles specify that "after research results are published, psychologists do not withhold the data on which their conclusions are based from other competent professionals who seek to verify the substantive claims through reanalysis and who intend to use such data only for that purpose, provided that the confidentiality of the participants can be protected and unless legal rights concerning proprietary data preclude their release" (Standard 8.14).

APA expects authors to adhere to these standards. Specifically, APA expects authors to have their data available throughout the editorial review process and for at least 5 years after the date of publication.

Authors are required to state in writing that they have complied with APA ethical standards in the treatment of their sample, human or animal, or to describe the details of treatment.

• Download Certification of Compliance With APA Ethical Principles Form (PDF, 26KB)

The APA Ethics Office provides the full Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct electronically on its website in HTML, PDF, and Word format. You may also request a copy by emailing or calling the APA Ethics Office (202-336-5930). You may also read "Ethical Principles," December 1992, American Psychologist, Vol. 47, pp. 1597–1611.

Other Information

• Appeals Process for Manuscript Submissions
• Preparing Auxiliary Files for Production
• Document Deposit Procedures for APA Journals