January 2000 will mark, among many other events, the beginning of the 10th volume of Cerebral Cortex. On this occasion we are pleased to report some good news as well as to announce several modifications in the publication of the journal. First, starting in January, Cerebral Cortex will be published monthly. The increase from 8 to 12 issues hopefully will alleviate the backlog that has been developing due to a steady increase in submissions. The larger number of issues will not only allow papers to be published more rapidly, but will also enable continued publication of Special Issues in each volume. Although, judging by the number of hits, the electronic full-text online version has been a success, we encourage all our contributors and subscribers to suggest further improvements.
A second bit of good news is that Cerebral Cortex has risen to an admirable impact factor of 7.4, according to the Institute of Scientific Informations 1999 SCI Journal Citation Reports. This places it within the élite of specialized journals and ahead of many well-established neuroscience periodicals. Subscriptions have been increasing steadily and both the submissions and readership have broad international representation.
A third point is that Cerebral Cortex continues to represent all areas of the cerebral cortex and all levels of analysis, ranging from genes and molecules to anatomy, function and theory. The journal has published significant papers on cortical development, aging and evolution as well as on neurological and mental diseases. Our aim is to broaden the range still further to encompass more cellular, circuit and in vitro approaches as well as in vivo research in both experimental animals and humans. Finally, our Special Issues continue to be very successful and the last two, Cortical Circuits edited by David McCormick and Genetic Control of Cortical Development edited by John Rubenstein and Pasko Rakic, have helped to increase interest in these topics. Two special issues that will appear during the coming year are The Mysterious Orbitofrontal Cortex edited by Camen Cavada and Wolfram Shultz, and Cortical Dendrites edited by Ralph Niznik and Patricia Goldman-Rakic.
In each of the past four years, there has been an annual increase of over 25% in regular submissions. Although this increase is a sign of the journals health, this year it has forced us to reject over 50% of manuscripts as well as to hold many excellent papers in the pipeline. Editorial decisions and final selection are based on reviews by two or three respected experts in the field. Although the influx of manuscripts occurred in all subfields, Cerebral Cortex has experienced a major increase of papers in the field of neurobiology and noninvasive imaging of the human brain. In response, a Section Editor for this field will be selected in the coming year.
Looking ahead to the next decade, Cerebral Cortex will try to achieve even higher standards and strive to capture the excitement in this important and fast growing field. Scientists in this field are interested in complex issues and exploring these issues at multiple levels of analysis. With selection of high-quality papers at the conceptual and methodological edge, as well as outstanding reproduction of illustrations, Cerebral Cortex has become an essential resource in our field. However, the journal cannot prosper and advance without enthusiasts of this subject of unending depth and interest the organ that holds the secrets of human evolution.