ACE Journal of Neurosciences (ACEJN) is committed to ensuring transparency, accountability, and integrity in authorship. The journal follows the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) regarding authorship and contributorship. Only individuals who have made substantial scholarly contributions to a manuscript should be listed as authors.

Authorship Criteria

To qualify for authorship, each author should meet all of the following criteria:

• Make a substantial contribution to the conception or design of the work, or to the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data.
• Participate in drafting the manuscript or critically revising it for important intellectual content.
• Approve the final version of the manuscript before submission and publication.
• Agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work and to assist in resolving any questions related to its accuracy or integrity.

Individuals who do not meet all authorship criteria should not be listed as authors but may be acknowledged appropriately.

Corresponding Author

The corresponding author is responsible for:

• Ensuring that all eligible contributors are included as authors.
• Confirming that all authors have reviewed and approved the final manuscript.
• Managing all communication with the Editorial Office during submission, peer review, and publication.
• Ensuring the accuracy of author information, affiliations, and declarations.

Contributorship

ACEJN encourages authors to clearly describe the contribution of each author in the manuscript. Contributions may include:

• Study conception and design
• Data collection
• Data analysis and interpretation
• Manuscript drafting
• Critical revision
• Statistical analysis
• Supervision
• Funding acquisition
• Project administration

Providing contributorship statements promotes transparency and accountability.

Changes in Authorship

Any request to add, remove, or rearrange authors after manuscript submission must:

• Be submitted in writing by the corresponding author.
• Include a clear explanation for the proposed change.
• Include written consent from all listed authors, including any author being added or removed.

The Editorial Office may request additional documentation before approving any authorship change.

Acknowledgements

Individuals who contributed to the research but do not meet the criteria for authorship should be acknowledged with their permission. Examples include technical support, language editing, administrative assistance, or general supervision.

Authorship Misconduct

ACEJN does not tolerate unethical authorship practices, including:

• Gift (honorary) authorship
• Ghost authorship
• Purchased authorship
• Unauthorized inclusion or exclusion of authors
• Misrepresentation of individual contributions

Any suspected authorship misconduct will be investigated in accordance with COPE guidance. Proven violations may result in manuscript rejection, publication correction, retraction, or notification of the relevant institutions.

Editorial Responsibility

Editors may request evidence supporting authorship contributions at any stage of the editorial process. The journal reserves the right to reject manuscripts or suspend publication if authorship concerns cannot be satisfactorily resolved.