Article Types
Neuropharmacology and Therapy publishes research articles, review articles, editorials, letters, research highlights, case report articles and study methods.
- Please review the below article type specifications including the required article lengths, illustrations, table limits and reference counts. The word count excludes the title page, abstract, tables, acknowledgements, contributions and references. Manuscripts should be as succinct as possible. Some article types, including original research and review, must include a graphical abstract. All figures and images should have a resolution of at least 300 DPI.
- Research Articles
Original research papers should follow the basic structure of abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion, references, and tables and figures as appropriate. The text of research articles should be divided into sections with the headings:
- Abstract
- Key words
- Introduction
- Methods
- Results
- Discussion
- Acknowledgements
- Conflict of interest
- References
- Graphical abstract
The abstract (250 words) should represent an accurate summary of the article. The prescribed word count for research articles is no more than 5000 words (excluding Abstracts, Acknowledgements, References, figures, and Tables).
Please include the key messages of your article after your abstract using the following headings. This section should be no more than 3-5 sentences and should be distinct from the abstract; be succinct, specific and accurate.
- What is already known on this topic – summarize the state of scientific knowledge on this subject before you did your study and why this study needed to be done
- What this study adds – summarize what we now know as a result of this study that we did not know before
- How this study might affect research, practice or policy – summarize the implications of this study
This will be published as a summary box after the abstract in the final published article.
- Review Articles
We require the authors have a strong background in the related field. It is expected that these articles would be written by individuals who have done substantial work on the subject or are considered experts in the past three years. In particular, the scope of the review should not be dominated by the authors’ own work. The manuscript should have a structured English abstract representing an accurate summary of the article.
This kind of papers also should include the key message box after your abstract using the following headings. This section should be no more than 3-5 sentences and should be distinct from the abstract: be succinct, specific and accurate.
- What is already known on this topic – summarize the state of scientific knowledge on this subject before you did your study and why this study needed to be done
- What this study adds – summarize what we now know as a result of this study that we did not know before
- How this study might affect research, practice or policy – summarize the implications of this study
This will be published as a summary box after the abstract in the final published article.
Word count: up to 6500 words. Abstract: up to 300 words. Tables/illustrations: up to 6 References: from 50 to 100.
- Letters
The Letter to the Editor reports a short but exciting finding in a particular field of neuropharmacology with high quality and of broad interest. The letter should be brief yet concise, and no specific subsections are required. No Materials and Methods section is needed, but any technical information which the authors think is important should be submitted as supplementary materials. For Letter to the editor, the total words count should not exceed 2,500 (excluding Acknowledgements, References, Figures and Tables) and the display items should be limited to 2. References are limited to 15. No abstract and subsections are needed.
Study Methods
Neuropharmacology and Therapy accepts the protocol paper that is a format for step-by-step descriptions of procedures that can be followed immediately by other researchers. A protocol paper should contain sufficient information describing the experimental details including reagents, equipment, timing, data analysis and interpretation, and necessary instructions throughout each step of an experiment. A discussion of the protocol must be included to state the advantages and limitations of the current technique. A protocol paper should include the following parts: Abstract, Keywords, Background, Procedures, Results, Discussion, Material, reagents and equipment (including software), Declaration, References, and Supplementary information (including experimental videos is encouraged).
The section describes different statistical methods relevant to Neuropharmacology research. The articles should include practical examples of how to conduct the analytic methods being described and be written for a general research audience (not solely for biostatisticians).
The prescribed word count for Study Methods is no more than 4,000 words (excluding Abstracts, Acknowledgements, References, figures and Tables). Approximately 30 references can be included.
- Research Highlights
The Research Highlight describes exciting research advances based on one breakthrough recently published, best within last three months. It highlights the main results of the research, emphasizes the significance, and provides further discussion or commentary on the topic. No subsection is required for Research Highlight paper.
The prescribed word count for Commentaries is no more than 2,000 words (excluding Abstracts, Acknowledgements, References, figures and Tables). Approximately 20 references can be included.
- Editorials
Editorials are written by editorial board members commissioned by Editors, and free contributions are not accepted. The section titles will depend upon the topic presented.
The prescribed word count for Editorials is no more than 2,500 words (excluding Abstracts, Acknowledgements, References, figures and Tables). Approximately 20 references can be included.
- Brief Cases Report
This section belongs to our Education Column. These are case series that highlight an interesting or important clinical or theoretical issue. We are particularly interested in case reports that highlight specific characteristics of patients in China or specific aspects of the Chinese mental health care system. These are case series that highlight an interesting or important clinical or theoretical issue. We are particularly interested in rare cases reports that highlight specific characteristics of the patients. The prescribed word count for Case report is no more than 1,200 words (excluding Abstracts, Acknowledgements, References, figures and Tables). Approximately 15 references can be included.
Submissions to Neuropharmacology and Therapy are made using ScholarOne, the online submission and peer review system. Registration and access are available at https://mc04.manuscriptcentral.com/nptherapy.
Along with the submission, please provide a cover letter declaring any potential conflicts of interests.
Notice of acceptance of the manuscripts will be sent within 7 days after reception.
Accepted manuscripts will be published within 3–6 months after acceptance.