Reflections on 60 years of publication of the Journal of Neurochemistry

Editorial: Exciting developments in neurochemistry research and publishing

In this editorial, we are happy to connect with our community to explain the changes introduced to the Journal of Neurochemistry over the last year and provide some insights into new developments and exciting opportunities. We anticipate these developments, which are strongly guided to increase transparency and support early career researchers, will increase the value of the Journal of Neurochemistry for the authors and readers. Ultimately, we hope to improve the author experience with the Journal of Neurochemistry and continue to be the leading venue for fast dissemination of exciting new research focusing on how molecules, cells and circuits regulate the nervous system in health and disease.

The origins and early history of neurochemistry and its societies

At the 2017 joint meeting of the International Society for Neurochemistry (ISN) and the European Society for Neurochemistry, 150 years of neurochemistry - the 50th anniversary of ISN, 40 years of European Society for Neurochemistry, and 60 years of the Journal of Neurochemistry (JNC) - was celebrated with a historical symposium that explored the foundations of neurochemical societies, key international figures in the discipline of neurochemistry, and the pre-eminent role of the JNC. The foundations of neurochemistry were laid in Europe, notably France and Germany, in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Neurochemists in the United Kingdom made globally relevant contributions before and after the Second World War, and Swedish contributions were especially prominent in the 1950s and 1960s. As neurochemistry is a truly international branch of neuroscience, the important contributions of neurochemists in the Americas and the Asia-Pacific were also recognized, as were the seminal roles of the American, Asia-Pacific, and Japanese Societies of Neurochemistry. Although ISN was only formed in 1967, earlier international meetings in Europe and the Americas reflected the growing recognition of the importance of chemistry and biochemistry for understanding and responding to the pathophysiology of clinical conditions and diseases of the central and peripheral nervous systems. JNC was first published in 1956, but the ISN only assumed complete ownership of the journal under tempestuous circumstances in 1970. The ISN-JNC interface and the sterling work of the JNC Editors has meant that the income generated by the journal has allowed the ISN Council to implement diverse programs for supporting neurochemistry internationally, including sustaining regional neurochemical societies, and supporting neurochemists in the developing world and schools of neurochemistry.

Receptor visualization and the atomic bomb. A historical account of the development of the chemical neuroanatomy of receptors for neurotransmitters and drugs during the Cold War

This is a historical account of how receptors for neurotransmitters and drugs got to be seen at the regional, cellular, and subcellular levels in brain, in the years going from the end of the World War II until the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Cold War (1945-1991). The realization in the US of the problem of mental health care, as a consequence of the results of medical evaluation for military service during the war, let the US Government to act creating among other things the National Institute for Mental Health (NIMH). Coincident with that, new drug treatments for these disorders were introduced. War science also created an important number of tools and instruments, such as the radioisotopes, that played a significant role in the development of our story. The scientific context was marked by the development of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and the introduction in the early 80's of the DNA recombinant technologies. The concepts of chemical neurotransmission in the brain and of receptors for drugs and transmitters, although proposed before the war, where not generally accepted. Neurotransmitters were identified and the mechanisms of biosynthesis, storage, release and termination of action by mechanisms such as reuptake, elucidated. Furthermore, the synapse was seen with the electron microscope and more important for our account, neurons and their processes visualized in the brain first by fluorescence histochemistry, then using radioisotopes and autoradiography, and later by immunohistochemistry (IHC), originating the Chemical Neuroanatomy. The concept of chemical neurotransmission evolved from the amines, expanded to excitatory and inhibitory amino acids, then to neuropeptides and finally to gases and other "atypical" neurotransmitters. In addition, coexpression of more than one transmitter in a neuron, changed the initial ideas of neurotransmission. The concept of receptors for these and other messengers underwent a significant evolution from an abstract chemical concept to their physical reality as gene products. Important steps were the introduction in the 70's of radioligand binding techniques and the cloning of receptor genes in the 80's. Receptors were first visualized using radioligands and autoradiography, and analyzed with the newly developed computer-assisted image analysis systems. Using Positron Emission Tomography transmitters and receptors were visualized in living human brain. The cloning of receptor genes allowed the use of in situ hybridization histochemistry and immunohistochemistry to visualize with the light and electron microscopes the receptor mRNAs and proteins. The results showed the wide heterogeneity of receptors and the diversity of mode of signal transmission, synaptic and extra-synaptic, again radically modifying the early views of neurotransmission. During the entire period the interplay between basic science and Psychopharmacology and Psychiatry generated different transmitter or receptor-based theories of brain drug action. These concepts and technologies also changed the way new drugs were discovered and developed. At the end of the period, a number of declines in these theories, the use of certain tools and the ability to generate new diagnostics and treatments, the end of an era and the beginning of a new one in the research of how the brain functions.

A Learned Society's Perspective on Publishing

Scientific journals that are owned by a learned society, like the Journal of Neurochemistry (JNC), which is owned by the International Society for Neurochemistry (ISN), benefit the scientific community in that a large proportion of the income is returned to support the scientific mission of the Society. The income generated by the JNC enables the ISN to organize conferences as a platform for members and non-members alike to share their research, supporting researchers particularly in developing countries by travel grants and other funds, and promoting education in student schools. These direct benefits and initiatives for ISN members and non-members distinguish a society journal from pure commerce. However, the world of scholarly publishing is changing rapidly. Open access models have challenged the business model of traditional journal subscription and hence provided free access to publicly funded scientific research. In these models, the manuscript authors pay a publication cost after peer review and acceptance of the manuscript. Over the last decade, numerous new open access journals have been launched and traditional subscription journals have started to offer open access (hybrid journals). However, open access journals follow the general scheme that, of all participating parties, the publisher receives the highest financial benefit. The income is generated by researchers whose positions and research are mostly financed by taxpayers' or funders' money, and by reviewers and editors, who frequently are not reimbursed. Last but not least, the authors pay for the publication of their work after a rigorous and sometimes painful review process. JNC itself has an open access option, at a significantly reduced cost for Society members as an additional benefit. This article provides first-hand insights from two former Editors-in-Chief, Kunihiko Suzuki and Leslie Iversen, about the history of JNC's ownership and about the difficulties and battles fought along the way to its current success and reputation. Scientific journals that are owned by a learned society, like the Journal of Neurochemistry (JNC) which is owned by the International Society for Neurochemistry (ISN), benefit the scientific community in that a large proportion of the income is returned to support the scientific mission of the Society. The income generated by the JNC enables the ISN to organize conferences as a platform for members and non-members alike to share their research, supporting researchers particularly in developing countries by travel grants and other funds, and to promote education in student schools. These direct benefits and initiatives for ISN members and non-members distinguish a society journal from pure commerce. However, the world of scholarly publishing is changing rapidly. Open access models have challenged the business model of traditional journal subscription and hence provide free access to publicly funded scientific research. In these models, the manuscript authors pay a publication cost after peer review and acceptance of the manuscript. Over the last decade, numerous new open access journals have been launched and traditional subscription journals have started to offer open access (hybrid journals). However, open access journals pertain to the general scheme that, of all participating parties, the publisher receives the highest financial benefit. The income is generated by researchers whose positions and research are mostly financed by tax payers' or funders' money, reviewers and editors, who frequently are not reimbursed. Last but not least, the authors pay for the publication of their work after a rigorous and sometimes painful review process. JNC itself has an open access option, at a significantly reduced cost for Society members as an additional benefit. This article provides first-hand insights from a long-standing Editor-in-Chief, Kunihiko Suzuki, about the history of JNC's ownership and about difficulties and battles fought on the way to its current success and reputation today. This article is part of the 60th Anniversary special issue.