Abstract
Welcome to Brain and Neuroscience Advances. Most advances in neuroscience happen at an alarmingly rapid rate. In contrast, the first society journal of the British Neuroscience Association (BNA) has waited half a century to be born. Consequently, much deliberation has gone into the creation of Brain and Neuroscience Advances. The journal, which puts the goals of researchers first, welcomes submissions from all areas of basic, clinical, and translational neuroscience.
When the BNA was formed in the 1960s (then called the Brain Research Association), the organisation pledged to support all aspects of neuroscience, from the molecule to the whole organism. An integral part of this support is to improve the ways in which neuroscientific findings are disseminated. A society journal is strategically placed to respond to the changing needs of both its members and the wider neuroscience community, which it serves. Although Brain and Neuroscience Advances will support BNA members, the journal will be truly international, and submissions are invited from neuroscientists all over the world.
The continued demand for greater knowledge about the brain in both health and disease has confirmed that there is an expanding appetite for well-conducted, carefully peer-reviewed neuroscience. Alongside research reports, the journal publishes novel reviews. A growing concern for all scientific journals is the risk of publishing findings that turn out to be unreplicable. When appropriate, Brain and Neuroscience Advances will publish null results, so best serving the neuroscientists it represents.
Why now? Health economists are only now beginning to appreciate the full cost of brain disorders – which for Europe is estimated at approximately 45% of the entire annual health budget. At the same time, many brain conditions remain intractable. The need for progress in neuroscience has scarcely been greater. In addition, scientific publishing is changing fast. The increasing demand for affordable Open Access publications has created a new landscape, creating the ideal opportunity for the BNA to launch its own journal. To make this possible, the BNA has been fortunate to form a partnership with SAGE Publishing. The ‘gold’ open access format means that authors simply pay a one-off Article Processing Charge for accepted papers, giving interested readers immediate, full access. Members of the BNA benefit from a discount on this charge, and to celebrate the journal launch, for an initial period an introductory discount is available to all authors to the journal.
Brain and Neuroscience Advances will rapidly establish itself as a premier neuroscientific journal with extensive impact. Its wide ranging content ensures a forum for debate and progress, and these same features stimulate cross-discipline thinking, so vital for truly novel, neuroscientific advances. Its status as a society journal ensures that Brain and Neuroscience Advances will remain responsive and innovative, and we look forward to all the successes and developments that the next half-century holds.