NEURAL NETWORKS: Instructions To Authors

 NEURAL NETWORKS
Official Journal of The International Neural Network Society, The European Neural Network Society, and The Japanese Neural Network Society

AIMS & SCOPE:
Neural Networks is an international journal appearing ten times each year which publishes original research and review articles concerned with the modeling of brain and behavioral processes and the application of these models to computer and related technologies. Models aimed at the explanation and prediction of biological data and models aimed at solution of technological problems are both solicited, as are mathematical and computational analyses of both types of models. Neural Networks serves as a central, interdisciplinary publication for all researchers in the field and its editors represent a range of fields including psychology, neurobiology, mathematics, physics, computer science, and engineering.

TOPICS INCLUDE:
• self-organization
• associative learning
• pattern recognition
• cooperative and competitive network dynamics
• short term memory and long term memory
• parallel distributed processing
• local circuit and systems analyses of brain-behavior relationships
• vision and image processing
• speech and language processing
• cognitive information processing
• sensory-motor control and robotics
• combinatorial optimization
• electronic, optical, hybrid, and virtual devices and neurocomputers

THE JOURNAL FEATURES:
Neural Networks Letters:  Exceptionally important new research results for which rapid publication is justified, reviewed immediately by one editorial board member.
Current Opinions:  Exciting short opinions on topics relevant to neural networks research.
Contributed Articles:  High-quality, peer-reviewed research investigations which represent new and significant contributions to the field.
Invited Articles:  As solicited by the editorial offices.
Letters to the Editor:  Presenting comments on papers published in the journal and other matters of interest to neural network professionals.
Special Issues:  Covering various topics of interest to neural network professionals.
Book Reviews:  As solicited by the editorial offices.
Editorials:  Providing commentary on matters significant to the neural network community.
Current Events:  Providing notices of forthcoming meetings, courses, and other events relevant to neural network professionals and society members.
Software Surveys:  Encouraging the open exchange of information on software programs unique to this field.
Patents:  Information on new patents.

NEURAL NETWORKS LETTER SUBMISSION:
Letters (up to 2500 words) are expected to contain exceptionally important new research results for which rapid publication is justified. Three copies of each Letter should be submitted to an appropriate action editor, along with a covering letter that explains why the work is of exceptional importance. Addresses for all authors should be listed on the title page and the corresponding author should be indicated by an asterisk. Each Letter should include an abstract (no more than 100 words) and an introductory paragraph. A maximum of 25 references is suggested. Figures and tables together with their legends should occupy no more than one of the pages.

A Letter is submitted directly to an action editor who is an expert in its subject matter. Research areas and addresses of action editors are listed in the first issue each year. A Letter may only be submitted to and reviewed by one action editor. A rejected Letter that is resubmitted and then accepted by another action editor will still be rejected by the Editor-in-Chief. Authors are encouraged to contact prospective action editors by email before submission. Please do not submit a Letter to one of the three Editors-in-Chief, but only to an action editor who has agreed to handle the submission.

The action editor provides a rapid review within four weeks and may recommend acceptance or rejection to the editor-in-chief in the corresponding geographical area, or may immediately decline to review the Letter. The action editor may also elect to request revisions from the author(s) before making a final recommendation. The editor-in-chief determines publication based on the importance of the Letter, as reflected by its priority rating. Accepted Letters are published on an accelerated basis in the next available issue.

CURRENT OPINIONS SUBMISSION:
Exciting short opinions on topics relevant to neural networks research, with a fast pre-publication on www.elsevier.com/locate/neunet.
Current Opinions should contain a clear statement and present views on a chosen topic. Opinion articles will both be solicited upon invitation as well as be submitted autonomously. The Opinions article should always be submitted directly to one of the editorial offices. Authors are encouraged to contact the editorial office by email before submission, including a brief summary of the proposed article of less than one page (300 words). An autonomously submitted Opinions article will either be accepted or rejected; resubmissions will not be accepted. Accepted Current Opinions will be pre-published on www.elsevier.com/locate/neunet. Comments on a Current Opinions article will follow the same route and criteria.

Authors should adhere to the following guidelines:
• Three paper copies and a diskette of the Opinions article should be sent to one of the editorial offices.
• Address(es) of the author(s) should be listed on the title page and, if more than one author, the corresponding author should be indicated by an asterisk.
• Each Opinion should include a clear statement (that will be used as the Abstract) and up to 5 keywords.
• The ideal Opinion article is exciting, consists of no more than 1250 words, has less than 10 references, and no more than 2 figures.

CONTRIBUTED ARTICLE SUBMISSION:
Contributed articles are accepted for consideration with the understanding that they have not been published elsewhere except in abstract form and are not concurrently under review elsewhere. Manuscripts should be sent to the editorial office nearest the author:

Full-length papers should be submitted, in quadruplicate, typed double-spaced, in English with an abstract summarizing briefly the essential contents. The original manuscript (including figure captions and references), and 3 complete copies of the manuscript and figures should be submitted with one set of camera-ready figures or photographs (original artwork or glossy prints). Manuscripts should be accompanied by (a) a cover letter including the name, address, and phone number of the author to whom correspondence should be sent; (b) copies of any published reports that may duplicate material in the submitted manuscript; and (c) written permission of author(s) and publisher(s) to use any previously published material (figures, tables, or quotations of more than 100 words). Authors should retain an additional copy of the manuscript and figures for their own files. Upon acceptance of a manuscript for publication, a copyright transfer form will be sent to the author(s). This form must be signed and dated and returned to the publisher.

In order to better guide the editorial process of the journal's highly interdisciplinary submissions, authors are asked to designate one of five preferred sections when they submit articles:
1. Psychology and Cognitive Science:  This section includes network models whose primary goal is to explain data about the behavior and cognition of animals and humans.
2. Neuroscience and Neuropsychology:  This section includes network models whose primary goal is to explain data about brain organization and dynamics, including data that link brain and behavior.
3. Mathematical and Computational Analysis:  This section includes systematic and rigorous analyses of network architectures and dynamics that have arisen in either biological or technological contexts.
4. Engineering and Design:  This section includes network designs, realized in either software or hardware, whose goal is to solve fundamental engineering problems.
5. Technology and Applications:  This section includes networks that are crafted to carry out particular tasks in technology, medical science, or other applications areas.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR:
Letters dealing with published articles or matters of interest to neural network researchers are invited. Letters should be short (not more than 400 words), typed double-spaced, and include references where appropriate. Where a published article is involved, the original author(s) will be invited to submit a response. Letters should be submitted to one of the three editorial offices.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
The Editors welcome notices of meetings, conferences, and other events of interest to neural network researchers. All such items will be listed (at no charge) in each issue of the Journal and will be continually updated.
Send announcements to the Current Events Editor:

Professor Haluk Ogmen
University of Houston
Electrical & Computer Engineering Department
Houston TX 77204-4793 USA
Tel: (713) 743-4428
Fax: (713) 743-4444
Email: [email protected]

BOOK REVIEWS:
Authors are invited to submit suggestions for book reviews to the Book Review Editors:

MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION:
Type the manuscript on white bond paper 21.5x28cm (8.5x11 inch) with one-inch margins. Use double spacing throughout, including the reference section. Organize the manuscript in the order indicated below, with each component beginning on a separate page and with a running title and page number typed in the upper right-hand corner of each page.

Title Page
Page 1 should include: (a) the title of the article (80 spaces maximum); (b) the authors' full names (first name, middle initial(s), surname); (c) affiliations (the name of department (if any), institution, city, and state or country where the work was done) indicating which authors are associated with which affiliations; (d) acknowledgements of grant support and of individuals who were of direct help in the preparation of the study; (e) the name, address and phone number of the author to whom reprint requests are to be sent; and (f) running title (not more than 30 spaces).

Abstract and Key Words
Page 2 should include the title of the article followed by an abstract of no more than 150 words. The abstract should state the purpose of the study, basic procedures, most important findings, and principal conclusions, with an emphasis on the new aspects of the study. Following the abstract, list 8 key words or phrases for indexing. In addition, authors should also submit a list of symbols used in mathematical formulas with a description of each symbol.

Text
All manuscripts should be typed on one side of the paper, double-spaced with one-inch margins.

References
Manuscripts should be prepared using the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association for style. The reference section should be double-spaced and all works cited must be listed. Avoid abbreviations of journal titles and incomplete information.

Example Journal Reference
Miyamoto, H., Kawato, M., Setoyama, T., and Suzuki, R. (1988). Feedback-error-learning neural network for trajectory control of a robotic manipulator. Neural Networks, 1, 251-265.

Example Book Reference
Carpenter, G.A. and Grossberg, S. (1991). Pattern recognition by self-organizing neural networks. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Example Article in a Book
Taylor, J.G. (1992). Dynamical systems and artificial neural networks. In J.G. Taylor and C.L.T. Mannion (Eds.), Theory and applications of neural networks. New York: Springer-Verlag, pp.31-76.

Tables
Authors are asked to keep each table to a reasonable size; very large tables packed with data simply confuse the reader. Each table and every column should be provided with an explanatory heading, with units of measure clearly indicated. The same data should not be reproduced in both tables and figures. Footnotes to a table should be indicated by superscript lower case letters. Tables and illustrations (along with their footnotes or captions) should be completely intelligible without reference to the text.

Figures
Illustrations for reproduction should normally be about twice the final size required. Figures should be professionally drawn and photographed and should be submitted as glossy, high-contrast, black-and-white photographs. Authors of articles requiring the use of four-color illustrations should contact the publisher. Use a label on the back of each figure to indicate the article's title and the top of the figure. Do not write directly on the back of the photographs. Do not trim, mount, clip or staple the illustrations. Please securely package all artwork in a protective envelope.

Figure Legends
Legends should be typed double spaced and numbered with Arabic numerals corresponding to the illustrations and submitted on a separate page. The legends should permit the figures to be understood without reference to the text. If the figure has been previously published, a credit line should be included.

Electronic Files
Authors will also be asked to submit the final version of the manuscript on disk in addition to paper copy. Providing an electronic file will enable the publisher to achieve a speedier publication process and will also allow for inclusion of the work in an electronic archive.

REVIEW AND PRODUCTION PROCESS:
All manuscripts are peer-reviewed. Authors will receive galley proofs of their article before publication and should answer all queries and carefully check all editorial changes at this point. Authors of all original articles and reviews will receive 25 free reprints. Additional reprints may be purchased using the reprint order form that is sent during the galley proof stage.