Instructions to Authors

Welcome to the electronic manuscript submission website for Neuropsychopharmacology. The instructions below are structured so that you can quickly and easily answer the following questions:

1. Is my manuscript suitable for Neuropsychopharmacology? (Scope + Editorial Policy)
2. How do I format my manuscript for Neuropsychopharmacology? (Format of Papers)
3. How do I submit my manuscript to Neuropsychopharmacology? (Submission of Papers)

• BIOSIS
• Chemical Abstracts
• Current Contents/Life Sciences
• EMBASE
• Elsevier BIOBASE
• Index Medicus
• Inpharma
• PsycINFO Psychological Abstracts
• SCISEARCH
• Science Citation Index

Scope

Neuropsychopharmacology is an international scientific journal and the official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP). This journal focuses upon clinical and basic science contributions that advance our understanding of the brain and behavior, especially as related to the molecular, cellular, physiological and psychological properties of agents acting within the central nervous system and the identification of the new molecular targets for the development of the next generation of drugs. While original reports are preferred, mini-reviews and perspectives are invited by the editorial office. In view of the interdisciplinary nature of the field, particular emphasis is placed on:

• studies that advance the biological bases of normal and pathological behavior
• the nature, etiology and pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric disorders
• biologically relevant aspects of the epidemiology, diagnosis and treatment of these disorders
• the basic mechanisms by which psychopharmacological agents exert their effect

Editorial Policy

Editor-in-Chief:
James H. Meador-Woodruff, MD

Submission is a representation that neither the manuscript nor its data have been previously published (except in abstract) or are currently under consideration for publication. Procedures involving experiments on human subjects should be in accord with the ethical standards of the Committee on Human Experimentation of the institution in which the experiments were done. In particular, authors must ensure that patient confidentiality is in no way breached, and that a statement of informed consent is made. The College requires authors to affirm that original studies reported in publication bearing the imprimatur of the College have been carried out in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and/or with the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals as adopted and promulgated by the National Institutes of Health. An explicit statement must be provided in the Methods section of the manuscript.

Disclosure/Conflict of Interest

The submission must contain an explicit and unambiguous statement describing any potential conflict of interest, or lack thereof, for any of the authors as it relates to the subject of the report. Examples include “Dr. Smith receives compensation as a consultant for XYZ Company, a manufacturer of antidepressants,” “Dr. Jones and Dr. Smith have financial holdings in ABC Company, which distributes haldol,” or “Dr. Jones owns a patent on the diagnostic device described in this report.” These statements acknowledging or denying conflicts of interest must be included in the manuscript under the heading ‘Disclosure/Conflict of Interest". The ‘Disclosure/Conflict of Interest’ is to appear after the ‘Discussion’ section and before the ‘Acknowledgments.’

Following the conflict of interest declaration in ‘Disclosure/Conflict of Interest,’ there must be a listing for each author, detailing the names of organizations, institutions, companies, and individuals, including intermediaries such as sub-contractors or conference organizers, from whom they have received compensation for professional services in any of the previous three years, or from whom they anticipate receiving such compensation in the near future, whether or not these affiliations appear to have any relevance to the topic covered in the submission. Neither the precise amount received from each entity nor the aggregate income from these sources needs to be provided. Professional services include any activities for which the individual is, has been, or will be compensated with cash, royalties, fees, stock or stock options in exchange for work performed, advice or counsel provided, or for other services related to the author’s professional knowledge and skills. This would include, but not necessarily be limited to, the identification of organizations from which the author received contracts or in which he or she holds an equity stake if professional services were provided in conjunction with the transaction.

The authors are expected to disclose any other financial holdings or considerations, such as stocks, bonds or donations of supplies or equipment that a reasonable person could construe as possibly influencing the objectivity of the report. When there is uncertainty about what should be listed, it is best to disclose all holdings or affiliations to ensure that there is no question about intent to withhold information. Authors should communicate with the editorial office (journal@acnp.org) if they have questions about this policy.

In addition to the above, each author must forward with the original submission a completed and signed Authorship Disclosure Form. Click here to download the form. The form can be forwarded to the journal office by fax (615-523-3233) or as an e-mail attachment to journal@acnp.org at the time of submission.

If subsequent to publication it is learned that relevant information was not disclosed, a corrigendum describing the infraction will be published in the journal and linked to the article in PubMed. Additional actions may be taken, including restrictions placed on future publications in the journal, at the discretion of the editor and Publications Committee. For information about the financial interests of our Associate Editors, please download this PDF. For information about the financial interests of our Editorial Board, please download this PDF.

Clinical Trials Registration

Neuropsychopharmacology subscribes to the standards set by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors in The Lancet (364: 911-912, 2004) requiring that all trials that start enrolling participants after July 1, 2005 must be registered in a suitable publicly accessible register before that date in order to be considered for publication in the Journal. Those trials that started enrollment before July 1, 2005 must have registered before September 13, 2005 to be considered for publication. Suggested registers include: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov and http://www.controlled-trials.com. Registration in the former is free, while registration for trials that do not emanate from developing countries carries a $144 charge in the latter. Access to both registries is free.

Format of Papers

All papers should include the new manuscript heading of ‘Disclosure/Conflict of Interest’ as shown below.

Papers should be formatted as follows:

1. Title page
2. Abstract
3. Introduction
4. Materials (or Patients) and Methods
5. Results
6. Discussion
7. Disclosure/Conflict of Interest
8. Acknowledgments
9. References
10. Tables
11. Figures

Review Process. Authors may suggest 3-5 reviewers who are especially qualified to referee the work and would not have a conflict of interest. Please include the reviewers' names, email addresses, and institutions on the online submission form. Manuscripts will be reviewed by at least two external reviewers for content, originality, importance to the field, appropriateness of statistical analysis, and derivation of conclusions. Authors should note, however, that manuscripts may be returned after initial review by the editorial office if the paper is deemed unlikely to be reviewed favorably by virtue of size restrictions and/or general interest for the readership. This rapid rejection process enables the author to promptly submit for publication elsewhere.

FORMAT OF PAPERS

Preparation of manuscripts

All contributions should be written in English using American spelling and double-spaced with 1-inch margins. Set your word processing software to 8 1/2 inch x 11 inch paper. Number pages consecutively and type the corresponding author's name on each page. Type reference lists, tables, and figure legends on separate pages. The file should use the wrap-around end-of-line feature (i.e., returns at the end of paragraphs only). Place two returns after every element, such as title, headings, paragraphs, figures, and tables.

Non-Native Speakers of English
Researchers who are not native speakers of English who submit manuscripts to international journals sometimes receive negative comments from referees or editors about the English-language usage in their manuscripts, and these problems can contribute to a decision to reject a paper. To help reduce the possibility of such problems, we strongly encourage such authors to take at least one of the following steps:

• Have your manuscript reviewed for clarity by a colleague whose native language is English.
• Use one of the many English language editing services that are available, such as that offered by Nature Publishing Group Language Editing. An editor will improve the English to ensure that your meaning is clear and to identify problems that require your review.

Please note that the use of Nature Publishing Group Language Editing is at the author's own expense and in no way implies that the article will be selected for peer review or accepted by an NPG journal (or any other journal). The decisions that the editors of any NPG journal make based on the quality and suitability of a manuscript for that journal are entirely independent of whether that manuscript has been language-edited by Nature Publishing Group Language Editing.

Title Page. Include full names of authors, degrees, academic or professional affiliations, and the complete address, telephone number, fax number, and e-mail address of the author to whom correspondence and proofs should be sent. If the title of the article exceeds 45 characters, supply an abbreviated running title in the next text box.

Abstract and Keywords. For full-length papers and brief reports, provide an abstract of not more than 250 words as well as six key words that most appropriately describe the subject of the paper.

Text. Please use American spelling. Utilize metric units throughout the manuscript; laboratory units must be followed by SI (Système International) units. Use the generic name of a drug unless the specific trade name of the drug is directly relevant to the discussion.

Original Articles. These should be arranged as follows:

1. Title page
2. Abstract and keywords
3. Introduction (please limit to 750 words)
4. Materials (or Patients) and methods (please limit to 1500 words)
5. Results
6. Discussion
7. Disclosure/Conflicts of interest
8. Acknowledgments
9. References
10. Tables
11. Figures

Review Articles. These are a critical examination of the current state of research in a specific area. Authors interested in submitting Review Articles should contact the editorial office.

Perspectives highlight exciting new research, but do not primarily discuss the author's own work. These articles may provide context for the findings within a field or explain potential interdisciplinary significance. Perspectives commenting on papers published in Neuropsychopharmacology should add a dimension to the research and not merely summarize the experiments done in the paper. Many of the Perspectives that comment on research published in Neuropsychopharmacology are solicited, however, inquiries regarding new advances and fresh insights are welcome. Perspectives are intended to express a personal viewpoint and as such should have no more than two authors. These articles are limited to 1,000 words plus 1 figure.

Correspondence. Correspondence that provides a forum for the discussion of recent articles published in Neuropsychopharmacology will be sent to the author for response. Submissions should not exceed 500 words. Accepted letters may be edited prior to publication.

Gene Nomenclature. Authors should use approved nomenclature for gene symbols, and use symbols rather than italicized full names (e.g., Ttn, not titin). Please consult the appropriate nomenclature databases for correct gene names and symbols. Approved human gene symbols are provided by HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC), e-mail: nome@galton.ucl.ac.uk; see also http://www.gene.ucl.ac.uk/nomenclature. Approved mouse symbols are provided by The Jackson Laboratory, e-mail: nomen@informatics.jax.org; see also http://www.informatics.jax.org/mgihome/nomen. For proposed gene names that are not already approved, please submit the gene symbols to the appropriate nomenclature committees as soon as possible, as these must be deposited and approved before publication of an article. Avoid listing multiple names of genes (or proteins) separated by a slash, as in 'Oct4/Pou5f1', as this is ambiguous (it could mean a ratio, a complex, alternative names, or different subunits). Use one name throughout and include the other at first mention: 'Oct4 (also known as Pou5f1).'

References

List references alphabetically by author, on a separate page(s), at the end of the article, and cite them in text parenthetically using authors' name and year of publication. List all authors of papers, books, and chapters in the references. List the author(s) in the citation in the text if there are one or two authors (e.g. Jones and Brown, 1985; Smith, 1984); otherwise, list the first author followed by et al, (e.g. Jason, et al 1986). Periodical abbreviations should follow those used by Index Medicus. References should be styled as follows:

Journal. Barbosa MDFS, Ngyen QA, Tchernev VT, Ashley JA, Detter JC, Blaydes SM, et al (1996). Identification of the homologous beige and Chediak-Higashi syndrome genes. Nature 382: 262-265.

Book. Feldman RS, Meyer JS, Quenzer LF (1997): Principles of Neuropsychopharmacology. Palgrave: London.

Chapter in Edited Book. Mully, Jr AG (1990). Equity and Variability in Modern Health Care. In: Andersen TF, Mooney G (eds). The Challenges of Medical Practice Variations. Palgrave: New York. pp 145-286.

Online Publication. Citations for articles published first online should be formatted as follows:

Meador-Woodruff JH, Davis KL, Haroutunian V (2000): Abnormal kainate receptor expression in pre-frontal cortex in schizophrenia. Neuropyschopharm, print copy in press (originally published online Aug. 7, 2000, at www.acnp.org/citations/Npp08080001/).

When the manuscript is published in the journal, replace "in press" with the appropriate volume and page number.

Figures

Figures and images should be labeled sequentially, numbered, and cited in the text. Figure legends should be printed and double-spaced on a separate sheet titled, ‘Titles and legends to figures.’ Figures should be referred to specifically in the text of the paper but should not be embedded within the text. The use of three-dimensional histograms is strongly discouraged when the addition of the third dimension gives no extra information. If a table or figure has been published before, the authors must obtain written permission to reproduce the material in both print and electronic formats from the copyright owner and submit it with the manuscript. This follows for quotes, illustrations and other materials taken from previously published works not in the public domain. The original source should be cited in the figure caption or table footnote. Color figures can be reproduced if necessary, but the authors will be expected to contribute towards the cost of publication. A quote will be supplied upon acceptance of your paper.

Legends must be submitted for all figures. They should be brief and specific, and should appear on a separate manuscript page after the Reference section. Use scale markers in the image for electron micrographs, and indicate the type of stain used.

Artwork Guidelines

Authors are requested to follow our instructions on how to prepare their figures. For more information, see guidelines PDF . We request that at submission, ALL figures are of a high enough quality to be assessed in the peer review process. If your paper is accepted for publication and you have followed the guidelines, we will not require the artwork to be resubmitted following the peer review process.

Minimum Resolutions:

Halftone images	300 dpi (dots per inch)
Color images	300 dpi saved as CMYK
Images containing text	400 dpi
Line art	1000 dpi

Sizes:

Figure Width – single image	86 mm (should be able to fit into a single column of the printed journal)
Figure Width – multi-part image	178 mm (should be able to fit into a double column of the printed journal)
Text Size	8 point (should be readable after reduction – avoid large type or thick lines)
Line Width	Between 0.5 and 1 point

Note: Authors will be required to pay the cost of color illustrations published in print.

Color on the web

Authors who wish their articles to have FREE color figures on the web (only available in the HTML, full text version of manuscripts) must supply separate files in the following format. These files should be submitted as supplementary information and authors are asked to mention that they would like color figures on the web in their submission letter.

For single images:

Width	500 pixels (authors should select "constrain proportions", or equivalent instructions, to allow the application to set the correct height automatically.)
Resolution	125 dpi (dots per inch)
Format	JPEG for photographs GIF for line drawings or charts
File naming	Save image with .jpg or .gif extension to ensure it can be read by all platforms and graphics packages.

For multi-part images:

Width	900 pixels (authors should select "constrain proportions", or equivalent instructions, to allow the application to set the correct height automatically.)
Resolution	125 dpi (dots per inch)
Format	JPEG for photographs GIF for line drawings or charts
File naming	Save image with .jpg or .gif extension to ensure it can be read by all platforms and graphics packages.

Authors may be asked to pay the full color fee for figures that are not submitted in the format described above.

These should be labeled sequentially as Table 1, Table 2, etc. Each table should be typed on a separate page, numbered and titled, and cited in the text. Reference to table footnotes should be made by means of Arabic numerals. Tables should not duplicate the content of the text. They should consist of at least two columns; columns should always have headings. Authors should ensure that the data in the tables are consistent with those cited in the relevant places in the text, totals add up correctly, and percentages have been calculated correctly. Unlike figures or images, tables may be embedded into the word processing software if necessary, or supplied as separate electronic files.

House Style

As the electronic submission will provide the basic material for typesetting, it is important that papers are prepared in the general editorial style of the journal.

1. See the artwork guidelines for information on labeling of figures.
2. Do not make rules thinner than 1 pt (0.36 mm).
3. Use a coarse hatching pattern rather than shading for tints in graphs.
4. Color should be distinct when being used as an identifying tool.
5. Use SI units throughout.
6. Spaces, not commas, should be used to separate thousands.
7. Abbreviations should be preceded by the words for which they stand in the first instance of use.
8. Text should be double spaced with 1-inch margins.
9. At first mention of a manufacturer, the town (and state if US), and country should be provided.

File Formats

File formats for manuscript files, figures, and tables that are acceptable for our electronic manuscript submission process are given on the online forms. Further advice on file types is also available from the Tips webpage. Please follow our artwork guidelines for submitting figures, and use a common word-processing package (such as Microsoft Word) for the text. Submit tables either as converted images placed at the end of the Word document or as separate files from the program used to generate them. Raw data can be submitted in Excel or tab/comma delimited format.

Saving files with Microsoft Office 2007

Microsoft Office 2007 saves files in an XML format by default (file extensions .docx, .pptx and xlsx). Files saved in this format cannot be accepted for publication.

Save Word documents using the file extension .doc

• Select the Office Button in the upper left corner of the Word 2007 Window and choose "Save As"
• Select "Word 97-2003 Document"
• Enter a file name and select "Save"

These instructions also apply for the new versions of Excel and PowerPoint.

Equations in Word must be created using Equation Editor 3.0

Equations created using the new equation editor in Word 2007 and saved as a "Word 97-2003 Document" (.doc) are converted to graphics and can no longer be edited. To insert or change an equation with the previous equation editor:

• Select "Object" on the "Text" section of the "Insert" tab
• In the drop-down menu - select "Equation Editor 3.0"

Do not use the "Equation" button in the "Symbols" section of the "Insert" tab.

Supplementary information

Supplementary information is peer-reviewed material directly relevant to the conclusion of an article that cannot be included in the printed version owing to space or format constraints. It is posted on the journal's web site and linked to the article when the article is published. It may consist of data files, graphics, movies, or extensive tables.

The printed article must be complete and self-explanatory without the supplementary information. Supplementary information enhances a reader’s understanding of the paper but is not essential to that understanding.

Supplementary information must be supplied to the editorial office in its final form for peer review.

To ensure that the contents of the supplementary information files can be viewed by the editor(s), referees, and readers, please also submit a ‘read-me’ file containing brief instructions on how to use the file.

Supplementary information should be cited in the text as “Figure S1, S2, etc,” “Table S1, S2, etc,” or “Supplementary Materials and Methods.”

Supplying supplementary information files

Authors should ensure that supplementary information is supplied in its FINAL format because it is not subedited and will appear online exactly as originally submitted. It cannot be altered, nor new supplementary information added, after the paper has been accepted for publication.

Please supply the supplementary information via eJP, the electronic manuscript submission and tracking system, in an acceptable file format (see below).

Authors should:

• Include a text summary (no more than 50 words) to describe the contents of each file.
• Identify the types of files (file formats) submitted.
• Include the text ‘Supplementary information is available at the Neuropsychopharmacology website’ at the end of the article and before the References section.

Accepted file formats

• Quick Time files (.mov)
• Graphical image files (.gif)
• HTML files (.html)
• MPEG movie files (.mpg)
• JPEG image files (.jpg)
• Sound files (.wav)
• Plain ASCII text (.txt)
• Acrobat files (.pdf)
• MS Word documents (.doc)
• Postscript files (.ps)
• PowerPoint files (.ppt)
• MS Excel spreadsheet documents (.xls)

We cannot accept TeX or LaTeX.

File sizes must be as small as possible, so that they can be downloaded quickly. Images should not exceed 640 x 480 pixels (9 x 6.8 inches at 72 pixels per inch) but we would recommend 480 x 360 pixels as the maximum frame size for movies. We would also recommend a frame rate of 15 frames per second. If applicable to the presentation of the supplementary information, use a 256 color palette. Please consider the use of the lower specification for all of these points if the supplementary information can still be represented clearly. Our recommended maximum data rate is 150 KB/s.

The number of files should be limited to eight, and the total file size should not exceed 8 MB. Individual files should not exceed 1 MB in size. Please seek advice from the editorial office before sending files larger than our maximum size to avoid delays in publication.

Further questions about the submission or preparation of supplementary information should be directed to the editorial office.

Submission of papers

The first thing you need to do, if you have not done so already, is register for an account. After this, please consult the instructions below to enable you to submit your article through our secure server.

Please be sure that your browser is set to accept cookies. Our tracking system requires cookies for proper operation. (If you have Windows XP the defaults will need changing. For more details on this, please refer to the 'Tips' function on this site.)

Navigating the System

When you first access our tracking system, you will be taken to your Home page, where different categories of tasks are listed. If you are required to perform a pending action item or task, there will be a red arrow next to a 'Manuscript' link. Throughout the system, red arrows reflect pending action items which you should address. If there are no red arrows visible on your Home page, then you are finished and have no outstanding tasks to complete.

At any time please press HOME to go to the submission home page.

Process for Manuscript Submission

Please make sure you have gathered all the required manuscript information listed above BEFORE starting the submission process. The manuscript submission process starts by pressing the "Submit Manuscript" link on your "Home" page. The manuscript submission process is broken down into a series of 4 screens which gather detailed information about your manuscript and allow you to upload the pertinent text and figure/image files. The screens run in this order:

1. A form asks for author details, the manuscript title, abstract, and other associated manuscript information and types/number of files to be submitted.
2. A screen asks for the actual file locations (via an open file dialog). You will be able to browse for the relevant files on your computer or disk. After completing this screen, your files will be uploaded to our server.
3. A file upload completion screen provides you with a unique manuscript number for your submission. You will also need to specify the order in which you want your manuscript files presented during peer review.
4. An approval screen allows you to verify that your manuscript has been uploaded and the files converted correctly to PDF format. You will need to approve PDF conversion to complete your manuscript submission.

• Email address
• First and last name
• Institution
• Full postal address
• Work telephone number
• Fax number

• Covering letter
• Title and running title (you can copy and paste this from your manuscript)
• Abstract (you can copy and paste this from your manuscript)
• Manuscript files in Word, WordPerfect, text or any RTF format
• Figures/images in external files in TIFF or JPG, in either grayscale or CMYK color, not in RGB
• Tables in Excel (preferred) as separate files or embedded at the end of the manuscript file

Do not embed images and figures within the text from word processing software, as embedded images are not acceptable for production. (Tables are an exception to this rule, as you may be generating them using the same software and as resolution quality tends to be less important.)

Adobe Acrobat We recommend that for accessing the PDF files, best results are achieved if you have access to Adobe Acrobat Reader (4.0 or above). Should you require installation of this FREE program, please download from the link here and follow the on-screen instructions. (We recommend that on completion of installation, you amend one of the default settings. Select: File - Preferences - General, and UNCHECK Web Browser Integration. This will open PDF files in Acrobat Reader itself rather than in your browser. The amendment will not affect any functionality of either Acrobat Reader or your browser software.)
Please refrain from submitting your manuscript by e-mail attachment. If the site displays your details, then your paper has been successfully submitted.

Once you have submitted your files and the conversion is in progress, you may log off the Internet and come back later to check and approve the conversion. This process can take up to 5 - 10 minutes before the converted PDF is ready for approval. Please remember that your manuscript will not be submitted until you have approved the converted files.

Getting Help If you need additional help, you can click on the help signs spread throughout the system. A help dialog box will pop up with context-sensitive help. Should further assistance be required, please contact the editorial office (journal@acnp.org).

Manuscript Status Once you approve your manuscript, submission is complete and an acknowledgment email will be sent to the corresponding author with an assigned manuscript number, which should be included in all subsequent correspondence. Check the status of your manuscript at any time in the review process by following these steps:

1. Access the system with your password or link sent to you in the acknowledgement email.
2. Click on the link represented by your manuscript tracking number and abbreviated title.
3. Click on the "Check Status" link at the bottom of the displayed page.

This procedure will display tracking information about where your manuscript is in the submission/peer review process.

License to Publish The corresponding author must complete and sign the License to Publish form upon acceptance of the manuscript and return it to the editorial office. Failure to do so will result in delays to the publication of your paper. A copy of the License to Publish form can be found at http://mts-npp.nature.com/letters/npp_copyright.pdf< /a>. US Government employees should use the form at http://mts-npp.nature.com/letters/LTP_gov.pdf.

ACNP does not require authors of original research papers to assign copyright of their published contributions. Authors grant NPG an exclusive license to publish, in return for which they can re-use their papers in their future printed work. NPG's author license page provides details of the policy and a sample form. Authors are encouraged to submit their version of the accepted, peer-reviewed manuscript to their funding body's archive, for public release six months after publication. In addition, authors are encouraged to archive their version of the manuscript in their institution's repositories (as well as on their personal web sites), also six months after the original publication. Authors should cite the publication reference and doi number on any deposited version, and provide a link from it to the published article on the NPG website. This policy complements the policies of the US National Institutes of Health, the Wellcome Trust and other research funding bodies around the world. NPG recognizes the efforts of funding bodies to increase access of the research they fund, and strongly encourages authors to participate in such efforts.

Advance Online Publication.
All original articles are published ahead of print on Advance Online Publication. This will be the final version of the manuscript and will subsequently appear, unchanged, in print.

Proofs An e-mail will be sent to the corresponding author with a URL link where proofs will be available. Proofs must be returned by fax within 48 hours of receipt. Failure to do so may result in a delay to publication. Extensive corrections cannot be made at this stage.

Offprints Offprints may be ordered using the order form accompanying the proofs.

Business Matters For contact information regarding business correspondence and inquiries related to advertising, subscriptions, permissions, papers in production, or publishing a supplement, please visit our publisher’s contacts page.

Alternatively, you can write to: Neuropsychopharmacology, Academic Journals Division, Nature Publishing Group, 25 First St. Suite 104, Cambridge, MA 02141, USA.