A New Era for Neurons Revisited

Abstract

With the appearance of the first issue of Neuron one decade ago, the neuroscience community acquired a forum that quickly became synonymous with the most exciting developments in cellular and molecular neurobiology. Credit for Neuron's inception must go to Benjamin Lewin, who had the uncanny sense that the timing was right for a journal that would serve as the intellectual focus for the entire field of neuroscience, and to the group at UCSF, initially Zach Hall, Jim Hudspeth, and Lou Reichardt (later joined by Lilly Jan and Roger Nicoll), who agreed to become the Editors. By encouraging authors to submit the most exciting papers and by handling the review process in an efficient and fair-minded manner, the founding Editors were instrumental in generating a journal that became the leader in the field with almost unprecedented speed. Equally essential to Neuron's success were the Reviews Editors, initially Eric Kandel, later joined by Tom Jessell, who marshaled major reviews over a remarkable breadth of topics from outstanding authors. A great deal of credit must also go to the Associate Editors, who over the years have reviewed papers, offered advice on journal policy, and contributed some of their best scientific works to the journal. Fueled by new experimental approaches in the areas of biophysics and cell and molecular biology, but focusing on important biological problems, the research articles and major reviews in Neuron helped frame the major questions in molecular and cellular neurobiology. In June of 1994, Neuron was entrusted to me, and I became its full-time Editor in the Cambridge offices of Cell Press. I faced the daunting challenge of broadening the scope of the journal while maintaining the tradition of excellence established by the founding Editors. A Minireview section was added to allow a greater discussion of interesting papers published in Neuron and other journals. Recognizing the need for rapid publication of cutting-edge techniques with wide applicability, while preserving Neuron research articles for advances in our conceptual understanding, a Neurotechnique format was introduced. With a rise in the number of articles submitted and the addition of Minireviews, Neurotechniques, Book Reviews, and Letters to the Editor, I quickly realized that an additional full time Editor was needed. Susan Koester joined Neuron in September of 1995 as the Senior Editor, and within a span of six months she endeared herself to the Reviews Editors by complementing their efforts to broaden the scope of the topics covered by Neuron. In addition, she astutely commissioned and published Minireviews from young investigators, who overnight became recognized for their perspicacious and witty pieces. Last September, Susan moved to Bethesda and joined the National Institute of Mental Health, where she watches the changes she has set in motion at Neuron and, like the first group of Editors, serves as a trusted advisor to us. In the same month, Adina Roskies became the Neuron Senior Editor and set out to make Neuron the journal of choice for systems neuroscientists desiring to publish novel significant papers in a full-length format. Neuron is ten years old this month. We are all working feverishly on this anniversary issue, putting the finishing touches on the research articles and Minireviews, assembling the set of reviews commissioned by Eric Kandel and Tom Jessell, which commemorate six decades of modern neuroscience, and marshalling the collage of past Neuron covers. As we look through the first issue of Neuron, we are given pause by the prescience of the founding Editors, who entitled their Editorial “A New Era for Neurons.” Not only does their introduction to this fledgling journal set out the lofty goal of capturing the most exciting developments in molecular and cellular neurobiology, but its title also alludes to studies of assemblies or networks of neurons, which make up the higher-order processes of the brain. On this anniversary, we toast the wisdom of the founders of Neuron and celebrate this “New Era for Neurons.”