A publication of the American Physiological Society
April 2019 Newsletter
Improved Alerts for New Articles

Our email alerts have recently been improved. You can sign-up to receive alerts about new publications at a desired interval (daily, weekly, or monthly), as well as new issue alerts and alerts to new citations, all at no cost!
New Case Study in Neuroscience Published
One of our new article types is Case Studies in Neuroscience. These articles provide a forum for studies that cannot be replicated experimentally (e.g., they report the neurological effects of a rare disease), but provide unique insights into mechanisms of neural function (either at the cellular or systems level). Clinical case studies that describe the treatment of a patient with a rare medical condition are  NOT  appropriate for this category
A recently-accepted Case Study provides insights into the neurobiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder through recordings of neuronal activity from nucleus accumbens in a human patient.

Case Studies in Neuroscience: The Electrophysiology of a Human Obsession in Nucleus Accumbens by Kai J. Miller, Thomas Prieto, Nolan R. Williams, and Casey H. Halpern.
Newsworthy NeuroForum Articles
NeuroForum is our venue for trainees to submit journal-club style articles related to recent publications, as well as minireviews on hot topics in neuroscience. NeuroForum articles are increasingly being noticed in social media, and by the press. By publishing a NeuroForum article, a trainee learns about the peer review process and may also become recognized by the neuroscience community.
JNP Supports Frontiers for Young Minds
Frontiers for Young Minds provides a venue for inspiring young scientists to publish articles related to the scientific literature.
JNP supports this initiative, and one of our recent papers was the focus of a Frontiers for Young Minds article.
Apply Now to Be the Next Editor-in-Chief of JNP
Bill Yates' 6-year term as Editor-in-Chief of JNP ends on June 30, 2020. The American Physiological Society is now accepting nominations for the next Editor-in-Chief, whose appointment will begin on July 1, 2020. You are welcome to nominate yourself or a colleague to manage the second-oldest journal devoted to neuroscience.

Nominations Must Be Received by July 15, 2019
Most Cited Recent Papers
The following are our 10 most cited papers in the past two years. Check-out these widely-disseminated articles!

The Role of the Hippocampus in Navigation is Memory by Howard Eichenbaum. Cited 23 times.

Neural Tracking of Attended Versus Ignored Speech is Differentially Affected by Hearing Loss by Eline Borch Petersen, Malte Wöstmann, Jonas Obleser, and Thomas Lunner. Cited 18 times.

GABA and Primary Motor Cortex Inhibition in Young and Older Adults: a Multimodal Reliability Study by Ronan A. Mooney, John Cirillo, and Winston D. Byblow. Cited 17 times.


 Modulation of Activity and Conduction in Single Dorsal Column Axons by Kilohertz-Frequency Spinal Cord Stimulation by Nathan D. Crosby, John J. Janik, and Warren M. Grill. Cited 15 times.

Breathing Above the Brain Stem: Volitional Control and Attentional Modulation in Humans by Jose L. Herrero, Simon Khuvis, Erin Yeagle, Moran Cerf, and Ashesh D. Mehta. Cited 14 times.

No Consistent Effect of Cerebellar Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Visuomotor Adaptation by Roya Jalali, R. Chris Miall, and Joseph M. Galea. Cited 14 times.

Sequential Hemifield Gating of α- and β-Behavioral Performance Oscillations After Microsaccades by Joachim Bellet, Chih-Yang Chen, and Ziad M. Hafed. Cited 13 times.

Separable Systems for Recovery of Finger Strength and Control after Stroke by Jing Xu, Naveed Ejaz, Benjamin Hertler, Meret Branscheidt, Mario Widmer, Andreia V. Faria, Michelle D. Harran, Juan C. Cortes, Nathan Kim, Pablo A. Celnik, Tomoko Kitago, Andreas R. Luft, John W. Krakauer, and Jörn Diedrichsen. Cited 13 times.
Most Discussed Recent Papers
Since we promote all the articles we publish via social media, they become highly discussed. We even let authors customize this promotion by completing our social media request form, which is included with every article acceptance letter .

The following are our most discussed articles in March 2019:
Beyond the Sleep-Amyloid Interactions in Alzheimer's Disease Pathogenesis by Shen Ning and Mehdi Jorfi. Mentioned 29 times in March.

Phase Shifts in High-Beta- and Low-Gamma-Band Local Field Potentials Predict the Focus of Visual Spatial Attention by Vanessa L. Mock, Kimberly L. Luke, Jacqueline R. Hembrook-Short, and Farran Briggs. Mentioned 16 times in March.

Neural Signatures of Reward and Sensory Error Feedback Processing in Motor Learning by Dimitrios J. Palidis, Joshua G. A. Cashaback, and Paul L. Gribble. Mentioned 15 times in March.


Come See AMP's World
Most of the articles published by JNP include the use of animal subjects. Increasingly, the animal rights movement is effectively opposing animal research.
Fortunately for researchers, Americans for Medical Progress (AMP) advocates for the humane use of animals in research and education. In addition to direct engagement with the media and providing support for institutions, AMP has developed a number of programs to facilitate researchers in educating the public about biomedical research. These programs include Biomedical Research Awareness Day (BRAD) and Come See Our World.
Calls for Papers
Our Calls for Papers generate content for virtual journal issues called Collections . These collections are definitive sources of information about particular topics. In addition, we issue Calls for meetings with which we are affiliated.
Calls Closing on June 30, 2019


Jack Cowan has played an important role in the development of mathematical modeling of neuronal networks. His research and mentorship have contributed to the formulation of the Wilson-Cowan equations, the application of bifurcation theory to neural modeling, and a variety of statistical approaches in mathematical neuroscience.  JNP partnered with the organizers of a conference that occurred on May 11, 2018 to celebrate Jack Cowan's 50th anniversary at the University of Chicago. This call is for manuscripts (including reviews) related to presentations at the meeting as well as to recent developments in research on modeling activity patterns in neuronal networks.


JNP  sponsored the 2018 International Motoneuron Society Meeting, which occurred on June 11–14, 2018 in Boulder, Colorado. As part of this sponsorship, JNP will publish articles (including reviews) associated with presentations at the meeting, as well as papers from International Motoneuron Society members. Appropriate topics range from the molecular biology and biophysical properties of motoneurons and motor units through pharmacological and behavioral strategies for therapeutic intervention, such as after spinal cord injury or stroke and in progressive neurological disorders.


Emilio Bizzi's career at MIT has had an enormous impact on the field of motor control. Recently, Emilio's research focused on investigating modular organization of motor control architecture and compositionality in the coordination of complex actions.  JNP  partnered with the organizers of a workshop that occurred on May 5, 2018 to discuss these topics and to acknowledge Emilio Bizzi's role in exploring these ideas. This call is for manuscripts (including reviews) related to discussion at the workshop as well as recent developments in research on modularity and compositionality in motor control.

Calls Closing on December 31, 2019


Despite decades of research, the functional and evolutionary significance of the auditory and vestibular inner ear efferents are poorly understood. The long held belief that the peripheral auditory and vestibular end organs are simple sensors with no information processing has been challenged in recent years. It is a remarkable feature that the auditory and vestibular systems possess a mechanism for targeted and specialized modulation of afferent sensory information via descending inputs from the brain to the cochlea and vestibular organs. Over the past few years, new discoveries have emerged regarding efferent synaptic mechanisms and their role in sensory afferent development and signaling as well as higher order processing of behaviors. This call is for original research and reviews that advance our current understanding of the function of the inner ear efferents in health and in pathological conditions. The aim is to discuss efferent synaptic mechanisms, effects on sensory afferent development and signaling, effects on behavior and higher order processing, and plasticity with sensory experience and pathology in different animal models and using new research tools (including imaging, stimulation, and recording techniques).


Dynamic neural networks allow organisms to adapt crucial behaviors based on sensory, environmental, and internal factors. This call is for manuscripts (including reviews) that explore aspects of neural networks at any level, from the roles of specific channels and neurotransmitters to the behavioral implications of neural networks. JNP is issuing this call in partnership with the organizers of the workshop “Dynamic Neural Networks: The Stomatogastric Nervous System.” This workshop occurred on November 2, 2018 at the University of San Diego. Note that this call is open to all research on the topic of neural network modulation, not just to workshop attendees. However, we especially encourage speakers and attendees from the workshop to submit.


We are excited to continue our productive relationship with the Society for the Neural Control of Movement!  JNP  is a sponsor of the 2019 Society for the Neural Control of Movement (NCM) Meeting , planned for April 23–27, 2019 in Toyama, Japan. As part of this sponsorship, JNP will publish articles (including reviews) associated with presentations at the NCM meeting, as well as papers from NCM society members.