ISSN 0120-8748
printed version

ISSN 2422-4022
online version

INSTRUCTIONS TO AUTHORS

• Scope and policy
• Form and preparation of manuscripts
• Sending of manuscripts

FOCUS AND SCOPE

ACTA NEUROLOGICA COLOMBIANA is a scientific journal that issues quarterly in Spanish. It is the official channel for communication and circulation of information for the COLOMBIAN NEUROLOGICAL ASSOCIATION (ASOCIACION COLOMBIANA DE NEUROLOGIA-ACN), publishing scientific papers relating to basic and clinical neurosciences. The publishing process requires that all papers be approved by the Editorial Committee and undergo a double blind peer-review process.

The administrative structure and the editorial direction are in charge of an Editor (who is designated by the Directive Board of the Colombian Neurological Association), by an Associate Editor (designated by the Editor), and by a Scientific Committee and an Editorial Committee.

The Editor and the Associate Editor serve as first-line warrants for the upholding of the ANC editorial policies; they are responsible for the editorial process, for accepting works for publication, for maintaining the structure of both the Editorial Committee and the Scientific Committee, for the selection of external peer-reviewers, for coordinating both the structure and the content of the Journal, and for verifying style, printing and distribution of ANC.

All works submitted to ANC for publication undergo an editorial process and a peer based review in order to guarantee that ACN’s editorial policies are satisfied and that all works published fulfill the standards for scientific quality.

MISSION:

Acta Neurologica Colombiana is a quarterly journal whose main objective is to serve as a channel for the written circulation of knowledge in the area of neurosciences between professionals, scientists and academics in these scientific areas.

FORMAT AND COVERAGE:

ANC is directed to national and international communities of professionals, scientists and academics in the area of neurosciences. All publications are presented in Spanish accompanied by a summary in English. The publication of the Journal’s contents in the Colombian Neurological Association website and their inclusion in international indexing services guarantee international coverage.

ANC issues quarterly: January-March, April-June, July-September, and October-December.

POLICIES

Financing:

Acta Neurologica Colombiana is the channel for scientific publication of the Colombian Neurological Association, which is the financing institution of the Journal. Its directive and administrative structure finances all the costs related to ANC’s functioning. The Colombian Neurological Association is in charge of negotiating and establishing which advertisements are published in ANC. The editorial structure operates independently of the advertising process within the journal, so that no conflict of interest with advertisers can arise.

Editorial Process Guarantees:

ANC receives works in the areas of neurosciences and assures an anonymous and impartial evaluation. Publication follows a strict editorial process, a double-blind review by suitable peers external to the Journal, and criteria for scientific quality and pertinence. If the result of the process is negative for publication, there is no additional instance for appeal, and the decision will be transmitted to the author privately and by post.
Aside from the editorial process, all content and opinions stated in the works published are sole responsibility of the authors.

Opportunity and Communication:

ANC assures the scientific community that the evaluation process will take no longer than 8 weeks and will promptly inform authors regarding editorial decisions.

Free and Open Access:
All ANC contents, in their entirety, are available for the general community through the Colombian Neurological Association website. They are open-access, free and immediately available.

Both manuscripts and correspondence must be submitted through the website de Open Journal System (OJS): http://www.acnweb.org/es/acta-neurologica-colombiana.html. Works must be unpublished and submitted exclusively to Acta Neurologica Colombiana. 

All works submitted for editorial review must follow the unified standards of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors: ICMJE. Authors can find a guide in: Acta Neurol Colomb 1997; 13: 269-281. 

Manuscripts must be accompanied by a letter signed by all the authors, which certifies that all research work is done under the provided description, within the institution or institutions mentioned, all of which have knowledge of the manuscript and approve it, as well as stating that all authors have reviewed and approved of the material. The letter must also state in which section of the Journal the authors aspire to publish, must include the latest three publications in peer-reviewed journals by each author, and must also include the name and contact information of the author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

All papers must include:
- Title in English and Spanish
- Summary in English and Spanish
- Keywords in English and Spanish

All works must be unpublished and must be submitted exclusively to Acta Neurologica Colombiana. Complete or partial reproduction must be approved by the Editor and must give due credit to the original publication.

Acta Neurológica Colombiana and the Colombian Neurological Association are not responsible for any ideas expressed by the authors.

Acta Neurologica Colombiana demands the strict following of national and international ethical normativity for research on human and animal subjects. All works submitted for publishing must have previous approval from an Ethics Committee, and in cases where it is necessary, to have informed consent from people participating in studies.

All works involving interventions on human subjects, in order to be considered for publication, must be registered in any of the international registry services which are accepted for clinical studies, previous to the start of patient recruiting.

Investigation Ethics:
Acta Neurologica requires that all investigation involving human subjects follows strictly the Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Human Subjects established by the World Medical Association in the Helsinki Declaration in 2013.
All works submitted must be previously approved by a Research Ethics Committee from the Institution or Institutions in which the study is done and, in required cases, to have informed consent from the subjects under research.
ANC reserves the right to request from authors the letters of ethical approval for projects and, in some cases, the consent from research subjects, authorizing publication of information relating to their cases.

Prospective Clinical Study Registry
ANC adheres to the World Health Organization (WHO) and ICMJE guidelines regarding clinical studies registry.
All works evaluating prospective interventions on human subjects, in order to be considered for publication in ANC, must demonstrate an investigation protocol registry  which is previous to start of patient recruiting, and which is included in any of the registry systems internationally accepted by the WHO and ICMJE. Authors must specify the project’s registry site.

Experiments on Animals
For studies done on animals, authors must follow the International Guiding Principles for Biomedical Research Involving Animals by the Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences: CIOMS, an organization formed by WHO and UNESCO. For research done in Colombia, work must adjust to the Resolution 008430 of October 4th of 1993 by the Ministry of Health, by which the Scientific, Technical and Administrative Norms are established for Research in Health; Title V makes explicit reference to Biomedical Research on Animals and the Law 84 of 1989 by which the National Animal Protection Statute is adopted.
Authors must specify which guide or normativity they have followed to insure the protection of animals used for experimentation processes.

Privacy:
Names and e-mail addresses given to the Journal will be used solely for the purposes established by it and will not be given to any third party for any other uses or purposes.

Transfering Rights and Responsibilities for Contents of the Papers

Authors must transfer all rights, titles and interests over manuscripts submitted for publication to the Colombian Neurological Association headed by Acta Neurologica Colombiana. Complete or partial reproduction of contents must be approved by the Editor and must include due credit to the original publication.
Acta Neurológica Colombiana and the Colombian Neurological Association do not take any responsibility for the ideas expressed by the authors

Single Submission and Veracity of Information

All works must be unpublished and must be submitted exclusively to Acta Neurologica Colombiana. ANC does not admit that the content, whole or in part, be previously published or simultaneously submitted to other publications, in press or electronic. One exception to this rule corresponds to the required registry for clinical prospective studies.
ANC assumes that all information included in the submitted papers is true. In case a process for the investigation for fraud is initiated, ANC will inform of the findings the institution to which the authors belong. If the paper had been already published, a retraction process will begin.

Editorial Structure

Acta Neurologica Colombiana has an editorial structure corresponding to each number, which guarantees that different topics of interest in the neurosciences are covered. Not all numbers of ANC include necessarily every section. The sections are as follows:

Editorial: The opinion of an expert that was requested by the Editor or the Editorial Committee, on a topic of interest, scientific or research tendencies, or a state of the art on some area of neurosciences in general or one of the papers included in the specific number of ANC. As part of editorial communications, the Editor or the Associate Editor can generate a “Note from the Editor”, which can be about any of the aspects relating to ANC’s editorial line. Editorials and editorial notes are not submitted for external peer-review.

Original Paper: Unpublished work resulting from an original investigation and which gives new information on specific aspects of neurosciences. It is submitted voluntarily by researchers. This type of works is submitted to external peer-review done by two experts on the field.

Clinical Cases: Examples of clinical cases of neurological diseases which highlight some particularity in their presentation, course, diagnosis or treatment. These must include a brief revision of pertinent literature. This type of works is submitted to at least one expert for peer-review. Submitting clinical cases is open for all authors.

Reviews: Presentation of the current state of knowledge on a neuroscientific topic, whether by request of the Editorial Committee or by initiative of professionals interested on any special subject. These works are submitted to two experts for external peer-review.

Updates: Review of recent advances in any field of neurosciences specifically requested to the authors by the Editorial Committee. This type of work can be submitted openly by an author, in which case the Editor will evaluate whether the author can be regarded as an authority on the matter of update. In such cases, the works can be accepted. These works are submitted to two experts for external peer-review.

Controversies in Neurology: This section receives works both by initiative from authors or by request from the Editor and is targeted at treating specific topics which generate controversy in the diagnosis or treatment of pathologies that affect the nervous system. The concepts included in these works commit only the authors and not the editorial team of ANC. These works are not submitted for peer-review and the decision to publish them depends on the Editor or the Editorial Committee.

Images en Neurology: Images considered of interest for their academic value for teaching or that offer a special challenge which should be shared with the neuroscientific community. Images can be patient photographs, histology, pathology or imaging plaques. Submission of images is open and publishing in this section is decided by the editorial team without external peer-review.

Resident’s Column: In this section, residents from neurology or any graduate program in the neurosciences, can submit openly original papers or reviews done as single authors or joined by their professors. These works will be sumitted for peer-review by external experts.

Special Communication in Neurology: This section aims at publishing brief communications, guides, consensus, reflections and topics related to the education in neurosciences. This section is open to the interest of authors and all works are submitted for external peer review.

Letters to the Editor: Brief comments or opinions, which are sent freely in order to generate discussion over any work published in Acta Neurologica, and which, in the concept of the Editorial Committee, may contribute to the medical and neuroscientific communities. These works do not undergo an editorial process, or a review by external peers. The Editor and the Editorial Committee can refrain from publishing these communications if they consider that they violate ethical norms, are disrespectful or use inadequate language.

Once an article has been submitted, the editorial process begins. As a first step, the Editor of Acta Neurologica, the Associate Editor or the Editorial Committee will decide whether or not the article satisfies all conditions for being submitted for external peer-review by two experts. Peer reviewers will give their concept and suggest that articles are accepted without changes, accepted after changes, or not accepted. This concept will be sent through the submission system to authors  along with the arguments from the reviewers in an anonymous fashion.  In the case that changes are needed, authors will have 60 days -calendar- to make changes and resubmit the modified work. If the authors do not resubmit before this deadline, the Editor will assume that authors have lost interest in publishing their work. Once the paper has been modified by the authors, the Editor or the Associate Editor will verify that it satisfies the recommendations made by the external reviewers and, if this the case, they will submit the paper to the Editorial Committee to be included in a future number of ANC. This decision will be informed to the authors.

The editorial decision based on the concepts given by external peers will be informed to the authors by post and there is no appeal mechanism in case that a paper is rejected.