A new feature: The open peer commentary

A new feature: The open peer commentary

Neurotoxicoiogyand Teratology,Vol. 15, p. 279, 1993 0892-0362/93 $6.00 + .00 Copyright©1993PergamonPress Ltd. Printed in the U.S.A. All fights reser...

58KB Sizes 4 Downloads 101 Views

Neurotoxicoiogyand Teratology,Vol. 15, p. 279, 1993

0892-0362/93 $6.00 + .00 Copyright©1993PergamonPress Ltd.

Printed in the U.S.A. All fights reserved.

A New Feature: The Open Peer Commentary Neurotoxicology and Teratology is pleased to inaugurate a new feature to the Journal that the editors, editorial board,

to imagine a topic that has, as of late, aroused more interest and more divergent findings. Neurotoxicology and Teratology's guidelines for open peer commentary follow. We hope that authors will submit unsolicited commentaries for this feature directly to the Editor-inChief and, in addition, the editors will solicit commentaries from time to time. Because the Editor-in-Chief Dr. Donald Hutchings agreed to take the first plunge into these new waters, I was asked to serve as Guest Editor. In that capacity, I wish to take this opportunity to extend my thanks to all the authors for their cooperation in making this initial undertaking possible. Finally, on behalf of the Editor, I also wish to express sincere appreciation to Christine Scannell, Senior Publishing Editor at Pergamon, who brought this idea forward and provided key support to make it operational and to Dr. Paul Coleman, Editor-in-Chief of the Neurobiology of Aging, the Pergamon journal after which the open peer commentary was modeled and who provided advice and encouragement to Dr. Hutchings in setting up the process for this new feature.

and publisher hope proves to be a valuable addition to one o f the missions of a scholarly j o u r n a l - e n h a n c e constructive dialogue on issues of importance to the community it serves. The purpose o f an open peer commentary is to obtain an initial commentary on a topic o f interest to the field that provides a focused critique, new interpretation, synthesis, or controversial point of view. Following standard peer review and acceptance, the Editor will then select an array of recognized investigators in the area to review the paper and submit written responses. The initiating author(s) will be provided an opportunity to review the responses and prepare a dosing reply. The initial commentary, the collection of responses, and the reply will then be published together. A n open peer commentary can focus on issues, spark debate, build consensus, or highlight differences of opinion in a fashion not possible in standard articles or reviews. When it succeeds, the benefit of this format will be to push a field beyond its current thinking and hopefully move it toward the resolution of critical issues. The first Open Peer Commentary discusses the effects of prenatal exposure to cocaine. This is fitting, as it is difficult

Charles V. Vorhees, Ph.D. Guest Editor

279