Brain Research

Brain Research is dedicated to publishing the highest quality and greatest impact articles within the ever-evolving field of Neuroscience. We recognize how technology has changed the way scientific breakthroughs are communicated and Brain Research is committed to serving as a dynamic journal meeting the needs of the neuroscience research community. We now offer multiple formats for scientists to share their work with the community. These include Short Reports, Technology Developments, and Commentaries, in addition to standard research articles and reviews that the journal has published in its storied 50-year history.

Brain Research is a broad-format journal accepting manuscripts from across the international neuroscience community that range in scope from issues in fundamental neurobiology to translational and clinical neuroscience, there are contemporary themes within neuroscience that our Editorial Board has identified that are of particular innovation and interest because of their innovation and importance, highlighted below. The journal is further committed to studies that investigate sex-differences as a powerful cross-cutting variable within these high-interest areas. Consistent with our mission, however, Brain Research remains enthusiastic to publish any neuroscience-oriented work that advances the field in a meaningful way.

• Neurodegenerative Diseases and Dementia - molecular insights into the mechanism of disease and preclinical models

• Psychiatric diseases, autism spectrum disorders - preclinical models and insights into mechanisms underlying neuropsychiatric disorders

• Neuromodulation - optogenetics, DREADDs, deep brain stimulation, TMS, tDCS are all creating new levels of control and intervention in brain function in both the preclinical and clinical settings

• fMRI, ERP and other "windows into the brain" - quantitative approaches to cognitive neuroscience and real-time measures are rapidly advancing our understanding of the brain

• Stem cell biology/neurodevelopment - Emerging developments in stem cell biology are changing the way we view, and study, neurodevelopment, and represent an exciting interface of technology and biology

Article Types:

• Research Article - Standard submission, graphical abstract required

• Review - Standard submission, graphical abstract required

• Short Report - High impact, 3 figure max, expedited review, one-round only, can be moved to Research Article if major revisions are requested and interest is strong, graphical abstract required

• Neurotech Report - A methods paper whose impact is based purely on a technical or methodological advance, does not need to be hypothesis-driven science, graphical abstract required

• Point-Counterpoint - A pair of articles addressing a contemporary debate or controversy within a field - can be broad or very focused in nature, merged graphical abstract required

• Registered Reports

  This journal supports Registered Reports as article type, allowing you to have your research reviewed and pre-registered prior to conducting your experiments. Publishing your research as a Registered Report will reduce the chances of publication bias, provide an opportunity for receiving early feedback on your study design, allow you to stake an early claim on your research hypothesis and align with the increasing demand for greater transparency and reproducibility.

• Submissions outside of the scope:

  Brain Research does not publish case reports, bibliometric analyses, or papers that use Mendelian Randomization as its only technique. If using Mendelian Randomization, the research needs to be hypothesis-driven and provide substantive insights into neural function, structure, disease mechanisms, or behavior.