Preparation of Manuscripts

Abstract

The abstract should be 150-250 words in length.

Keywords

Please note that NPP no longer collects keywords. To ensure that your manuscript is easily searchable in PubMed and other repositories, be sure to include any relevant keywords in the title or abstract of your manuscript.

Introduction

The introduction should assume that the reader is knowledgeable in the field and should therefore be as brief as possible but can include a short historical review where desirable.

Materials (or patients) and Methods

This section should contain sufficient detail, so that all experimental procedures can be reproduced, and include references. Methods, however, that have been published in detail elsewhere should not be described in detail. Authors should provide the name of the manufacturer and their location for any specifically named medical equipment and instruments, and all drugs should be identified by their pharmaceutical names, and by their trade name if relevant.

Results and Discussion

The Results section should briefly present the experimental data in text, tables or figures. Tables and figures should not be described extensively in the text, either. The Discussion should focus on the interpretation and the significance of the findings with concise objective comments that describe their relation to other work in the area. It should not repeat information in the results. The final paragraph should highlight the main conclusion(s), and provide some indication of the direction future research should take.

Acknowledgements

The Acknowledgements section is optional. Acknowledgements should include, if desired, special thanks or dedications. Work done by a contributor or medical writer that does not qualify him/her for authorship, but which warrants acknowledgement, should be noted here.

Author Contributions

A statement outlining each author’s contributions is mandatory. In order to meet requirements of authorship, each author must have contributed to at least one of the aspects below. The ICMJE and Neuropsychopharmacology considers authorship to be based on the following 4 criteria:

• Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; and
• Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; and
• Final approval of the version to be published; and
• Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Additional information can be found under “Authorship.” As per ICMJE best practice, information provided in this section is the responsibility of the authors.

Funding

The Funding section is mandatory and should appear before the Competing Interests section in the manuscript. In the interest of transparency and to help readers form their own judgments of potential bias, authors must declare sources of study funding including sponsorship (e.g. university, charity, commercial organization) and sources of material (e.g. novel drugs) not available commercially.

Funding: Research support (including salaries, equipment, supplies, reimbursement for attending symposia, and other expenses) by organizations that may gain or lose financially through this publication. The role of the funding body in the design of the study, collection and analysis of data and decision to publish should be stated.

Examples of declarations are:

• FUNDING

This work was supported by a Ford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship to MRC and NIMH-R01-MH057440 to AAG.

Competing Interests 

Competing Interests: Authors must declare in this section whether or not there are any competing financial interests in relation to the work described. When submitting a manuscript, all authors are responsible for disclosing their own relevant interests in the work.  In cases where the authors declare a competing financial interest, a statement to that effect is published as part of the article. If no such completing interests exist, the statement will simply read that the authors declare no competing interests.

The Competing Interests section is mandatory and should appear after the Funding section in the manuscript.  In the interest of transparency and to help readers form their own judgments of potential bias, authors must declare sources of competing interests.

For the purposes of this statement, competing interests are defined as those of a financial nature that, through their potential influence on behavior or content, or from perception of such potential influences, could undermine the objectivity, integrity or perceived value of a publication. They can include any of the following:

• Research support (including salaries, equipment, supplies, reimbursement for attending symposia, and other expenses) by organizations that may gain or lose financially through this publication. The role of the funding body in the design of the study, collection and analysis of data and decision to publish should be stated.
• Employment: Recent (while engaged in the research project), present or anticipated employment by any organization that may gain or lose financially through this publication.
• Personal financial interests: Stocks or shares in companies that may gain or lose financially through publication; consultation fees or other forms of remuneration from organizations that may gain or lose financially; patents or patent applications whose value may be affected by publication.

The statement must contain an explicit and unambiguous statement describing any potential competing interest, or lack thereof, for all of the authors as it relates to the subject of the report. Examples include "Dr. Smith receives compensation as a consultant for XYZ Company," "Dr. Jones and Dr. Smith have financial holdings in ABC Company," or "Dr. Jones owns a patent on the diagnostic device described in this report." These statements acknowledging or denying competing interests must be included in the manuscript under the heading "Competing Interests."

Following the "Competing Interests declaration" there must be a listing for each author, detailing the names of organizations, institutions, companies, and individuals, including intermediaries such as sub­contractors or conference organizers, from whom they have received compensation for professional services in any of the previous three years, or from whom they anticipate receiving such compensation in the near future, whether or not these affiliations appear to have any relevance to the topic covered in the submission. Neither the precise amount received from each entity nor the aggregate income from these sources needs to be provided. Professional services include any activities for which the individual is, has been, or will be compensated with cash, royalties, fees, stock or stock options in exchange for work performed, advice or counsel provided, or for other services related to the author's professional knowledge and skills. This would include, but not necessarily be limited to, the identification of organizations from which the author received contracts or in which he or she holds an equity stake if professional services were provided in conjunction with the transaction.

The authors are expected to disclose any other financial holdings or considerations, such as stocks, bonds or donations of supplies or equipment that a reasonable person could construe as possibly influencing the objectivity of the report. When there is uncertainty about what should be listed, it is best to disclose all holdings or affiliations to ensure that there is no question about intent to withhold information. Authors should communicate with the editorial office journal@acnp.org if they have questions about this policy.

In terms of conflict of interest for editors, editorial board members and external editors are welcome to submit papers to the journal. Where an editorial board member or external editor is on the author list, they must declare this in the competing interests section on the submitted manuscript. If they are an author or have any other competing interest regarding a specific manuscript, another member of the editorial board will be assigned to assume responsibility for overseeing peer review. These submissions are subject to the same review process as any other manuscript, and their editor status has no bearing on editorial consideration. For more information about the review and handling process, visit the For Referees page. 

Examples of declarations are:

• COMPETING INTERESTS

Dr. Rincón-Cortés declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. Dr. Grace received consultant fees from Lundbeck, Pfizer, Otsuka, Asubio, Autofony, Alkermes, Concert, and Janssen, and is on the advisory board for Alkermes, Newron, and Takeda.

AJS, GC, JA, JT, JW, TB and WY are employees of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company, Ltd and own stock or stock options. TU was an employee of Hammersmith Medicines Research at the time of the study and is now an employee of Astellas. EAR, AM, YL, GES, JP and RNG are employees of Invicro. JMTJD was an employee of Hammersmith Medicines Research at the time of the study and is now an employee of GlaxoSmithKline.

The authors declare no competing interests."

"Dr. Brown has received compensation as a member of the scientific advisory board of Rx Pharmaceutical and owns stock in the company. He also has consulted for BioScript and received compensation. Dr. Smith and Dr. Liu declare no potential competing interests."

If subsequent to publication it is learned that relevant information was not disclosed, a corrigendum describing the infraction will be published in the journal and linked to the article in PubMed. Additional actions may be taken, including restrictions placed on future publications in the journal, at the discretion of the editor(s) and Scientific Communications Committee.

References

Only papers directly related to the article should be cited. Exhaustive lists should be avoided. Cite references in order of appearance, on a separate page(s), at the end of the article, and cite them in text using numbers in brackets parenthetically, e.g., “Several studies [1–4, 12]...” Start the reference list on a new page at the end of the manuscript. Include all authors up to six. If there are more than six authors, list the first six followed by “et al.” Periodical abbreviations should follow those used by Index Medicus. Number all references cited in the text first; if additional references are cited in figure legends and tables, add them to the end of the reference list.

References should be styled as follows:

Journal. Knowles EE, Kent JW Jr, McKay DR, Sprooten E, Mathias SR, Curran JE, et al. Genome-wide linkage on chromosome 10q26 for a dimensional scale of major depression. J Affect Disord. 2016;191:123–31.

Book. Relman RS, Wilson JS, Franks LF. Fundamentals of neuropsychopharmacology. 3rd ed. CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL; 1997.