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The world-leading clinical neurology journal
The Lancet Neurology publishes original research that advocates change in, or illuminates, neurological clinical practice. Topics include, but are not limited to, cerebrovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, epilepsy, migraine, neurological infections, movement disorders, multiple sclerosis, neuromuscular disorders, peripheral nerve disorders, paediatric neurology, sleep disorders, and traumatic brain injury.
We publish a range of article types that encompass all aspects of neurological medicine: Articles (including randomised clinical trials and meta-analyses), Review, Rapid Review, Comment, Correspondence, and Personal View. We also publish Series and Commissions that aim to shape and drive positive change in clinical practice and health policy in areas of need in neurology. Learn more about the types of papers we publish.
The Lancet journals are both a destination for publication and a platform to advance the global impact of research. The Lancet Group cares that your work is highly visible to a global network of researchers, clinicians, industry professionals, policy makers, media outlets, patients, and the wider public, and we work with you and your affiliated institutions to maximise the impact of your research on the world.
- Lancet journals have extensive global reach with more than 36·8 million annual visits and 98·8 million downloaded articles across TheLancet.com and ScienceDirect.
- Lancet Alerts, including our electronic Table of Contents, have over 3·6 million subscriptions.
- Lancet journals have nearly 2·4 million followers on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram , WeChat, Weibo, and YouTube.
- With over 275 000 annual mentions in news articles, research published in Lancet journals receives regular coverage in influential media such as the Associated Press, BBC, CNN, Financial Times, The Guardian, The New York Times, NPR, and The Washington Post.
- Lancet podcasts receive over 85 000 listens each month.
- Lancet Webinars have been viewed more than 5000 times by audiences in 170 countries.
The Lancet Neurology is an internationally trusted source of clinical, public health, and global health knowledge. With an Impact Factor of 48·0, we are the world-leading clinical neurology journal, ranking first among 212 journals globally (2022 Journal Citation Reports®, Clarivate 2023).
We recognise that the Journal Impact Factor is just one measure of a journal's performance and encourage you to explore additional journal impact metrics, which provide a means to assess our journals. The Lancet Neurology is also indexed by the following abstracting and indexing services:
- APA PsychInfo
- Chemical Abstracts
- Crossref
- Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL)
- Current Contents - Clinical Medicine
- Embase
- MEDLINE
- PubMed
- Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE)
- Scopus
Manuscript preparation must adhere to relevant reporting standards on the EQUATOR network website.
Manuscripts must be solely the work of the author(s) stated, must not have been previously published elsewhere, and must not be under consideration by another journal.
Whether you are an existing author or are thinking of submitting to us for the first time, we are committed to supporting you on whatever stage of your publication journey you find yourself.
As trusted sources of information, The Lancet Group sets extremely high standards for publishing, and we are committed to ensuring that our editorial processes meet our standards of excellence. From acceptance of your paper through to publication and beyond, our Editors, Assistant Editors, Illustrators, Production Editors, Journal Managers and Marketing and Communications experts provide guidance to strengthen the accuracy, accessibility, timeliness, and impact of your research.
Lancet journals are signatories of the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals issued by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE Recommendations) and to the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) code of conduct for editors. We follow COPE's guidelines.
We understand the pressure you face to have your voice heard first, and we are committed to publishing important papers fast. Fast-track publication is available on papers of immediate public health or clinical importance, or where timed publication has been agreed.
When requested by authors at submission, original research articles are assessed by the editorial team for their suitability for our fast-track service, and eligible papers are then published within 10 weeks of submission. Papers are subjected to The Lancet's usual rigorous standards of external and statistical peer review, and edited by experienced technical copy editors to the highest standards.
The Lancet Neurology is a hybrid journal, which offers authors of original research with funding that requires open access publication either a gold open access or a subscription green open access solution for their submission. Open access publication in our hybrid journals is available for authors whose research is funded by specific funders. Explore your options for publishing open access.
The Editor-in-Chief is the final arbitrator of all decisions on each of the Lancet journals—for example, the decision to take a paper to peer review, the decision to publish or reject in light of the peer reviewers’ remarks, journal scope and commissioning, consideration of appeals, general enquiries, and editorial priorities at any given time. The Lancet Group does not permit the Editor-in-Chief, or any in-house editors, to submit full-length articles to any of our journals.
Elena Becker-Barroso, Editor-in-Chief
I became Editor-in-Chief of The Lancet Neurology in July 2012 after serving as Acting Editor for one year, two years as Deputy Editor, and three years as Senior Editor for the journal. I earned my PhD in molecular biology from the Instituto de Microbiologia-Bioquimica, CSIC-Universidad de Salamanca (Spain) and did my postdoctoral training at the Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine, New York University (USA).
Laura Hart, Deputy Editor
I have held various editorial roles at The Lancet and The Lancet Neurology since 2004, including running The Lancet Group’s conference programme. I worked with The Lancet Neurology team on several successful conferences—in the fields of stroke, dementia, and NMDA receptor encephalitis—before being appointed Senior Editor in 2017. I studied clinical sciences at King's College London (UK) before completing a master’s degree in clinical trials at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (UK).
Heather Brown, Senior Editor
I have been a Senior Editor at The Lancet Neurology since 2008. I studied Biomedical Sciences at the University of Sheffield (UK), where I also completed a PhD on the role of cell adhesion molecules in axon guidance. I began my editorial career as an Assistant Editor withTrends in Neurosciences in 2001 and was also an in-house Editor at Current Opinion in Neurobiology before becoming Senior Assistant Editor at The Lancet Neurology in 2007.
Sarah Passey, Senior Editor
I joined The Lancet Group in 2001 as an Assistant Editor and worked for The Lancet in this role, and later as a Senior Assistant Editor, until 2021, when I joined The Lancet Neurology as a Senior Editor. I studied Biochemistry at The University of Leeds (UK) and gained a MSc from the Open University (UK) in 2005, studying Neural Ageing and Addiction, Molecular Medicine, and Science Communication.
If you have additional queries, we will be pleased to help. Please email us directly or at [email protected].
Learn more about the teams and people supporting The Lancet Neurology.
Our International Advisory Board consists of key opinion leaders and researchers from around the world who lend their expertise to the journal. The Board offer the journal subject, academic, and geographical advice on an ad hoc basis when requested by the editorial team. Board members have no formal involvement in content selection or in any part of the peer review process, nor do they have editorial oversight of any section of the journal. Board members are occasionally invited to peer review individual submissions at the request of the editorial team. Submissions authored by members of the Board are handled solely by The Lancet Neurology's editors according to our standard peer review processes; these submissions are never discussed by the Board or members thereof.
We are very grateful for their support and advice on editorial matters.
If you need to question an editorial decision, your first step should be to contact the editorial team. If you are not satisfied with our response, your next point of contact is our Ombudsperson whose task is to record and, when required, investigate allegations of editorial maladministration. Our files will be freely open to their inspection, and confidentiality will be respected in all cases. Our Ombudsperson’s remit does not extend to areas normally covered in our correspondence columns—namely, issues of editorial content and editorial policy.