Journal of Biological Rhythms

Journal of Biological Rhythms is a peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes papers focused on chronobiology, or any aspect of biological rhythms with a special emphasis on seasonal and circadian rhythms. However, papers on various other rhythms are also published in the Journal of Biological Rhythms. These publications can be primary reports of new discoveries, reviews, commentaries, or letters. As such, the authors of the publications have a diverse set of backgrounds and base their findings in areas like ecology, neurobiology and behavior, psychology and psychiatry, endocrinology, developmental biology, pharmacology, cell biology, biochemistry, genetics, molecular biology, and mathematical modeling. The Journal of Biological Rhythms has been in publication since 1986 and is currently published by SAGE Publications. The Journal of Biological Rhythms is the official publication of the Society for Research on Biological Rhythms. The journal's Chief Editor is William J Schwartz.

Journal of Biological Rhythms

Discipline	Life Sciences
Language	English
Edited by	William J. Schwartz
Publication details
History	1986-present
Publisher	SAGE Publications (United Kingdom)
Frequency	Bimonthly
Impact factor	3.243 (2016)
Standard abbreviations ISO 4 (alt) · Bluebook (alt1 · alt2) NLM (alt) · MathSciNet (alt )
ISO 4	J. Biol. Rhythms
Indexing CODEN · JSTOR (alt) · LCCN (alt) MIAR · NLM (alt) · Scopus
CODEN	JBRHEE
ISSN	0748-7304 (print) 1552-4531 (web)
LCCN	86655794
OCLC no.	11000168
Links
Journal homepage Online access Online archive

History

The journal was founded as the official publication of the Society for Research on Biological Rhythms. It released its first issue in March 1986, under first editor-in-chief Ben Rusak, who served from 1986 to 1994. The original Associate Editors were Gene Block, Serge Daan, Jerry Feldman, Bruce Goldman, Mike Menaker, Bob Moore, and Terry Page. The first issue largely focused on zoology and physiology, but over the years the field of discussion has expanded to include neurobiology, cell and molecular biology, photobiology, computational biology, behavioral ecology, and translational medicine.[1] Early experiments focused on Syrian and Siberian hamsters, ground squirrels, and bubble snails. Since those first publications, experimental subjects represented in the journal have grown to be more diverse, as well as the techniques used to research them. The techniques mentioned in the first few publications involved behavioral and physiological monitoring, circumscribed brain lesions, melatonin radioimmunoassays, electroretinography, and electrophysiological recordings. Early research topics included “splitting,” circannual rhythmicity, photoperiodic time measurement, and circadian pacemaker development, coupling, and output.[2]

The original publishing company before SAGE Publishing was Guilford Press. The cover of the first publication was a simple dark background with the name of the editor (Ben Rusak, served 1986-1994) and a list of the associate editors. By 1995, when a new journal design was selected by editor Fred Turek (1995-1999) for the 10th volume, the journal had already switched to SAGE Science Press. In 1997, he also changed the frequency of the journal from quarterly to bimonthly.[1] There have been two new journal covers since the one from 1995, all in line with the themes of the journal.

The cover selected by editor Martin Zatz (2000-2013) in 2001 depicts a pendulum, representing time and oscillation. The most recent one selected by current editor-in-chief William J. Schwartz (2014–present) in 2016 shows the mechanistic perspective of the relationships between biological clocks, rhythms, entrainment, and other themes of chronobiology.[2]

In 2001, under Editor-in-chief Martin Zatz, the journal began to release a number of special issues and special features, which have continued throughout the years:[3]

Special Issues

• Vol 16, issue 4 (August 2001), on seasonal timing
• Vol 18, issue 3 (June 2003), on entrainment pathways
• Vol 19, issue 5 (October 2004), on molecular and cellular clock components
• Vol 20, issue 4 (August 2005), on human circadian rhythms
• Vol 21, issue 6 (December 2006), on clock outputs

Special Features

• In Vol 22, issue 3 (June 2007), on mathematical modeling
• Vols 30 and 31 (2015, 2016), 17 reviews on body (peripheral) clocks

Scope

Journal of Biological Rhythms publishes papers on the understanding of basic nature, mechanisms, and functions underlying the generation, entrainment and expression of biological rhythms in plants, animals, and humans. The journal contains original research primarily on circadian and seasonal rhythms. It covers all aspects of biological rhythms, using genetic, biochemical, physiological, behavioral, epidemiological & modeling approaches, as well as clinical trials.

Themes

The Journal of Biological Rhythms covers topics in chronobiology, namely circadian and seasonal rhythms from a variety of different disciplines. Rhythms are placed within the context of their functional significance for the health and well-being of relevant organisms, including humans. The journal presents work that aims to understand the basic nature, mechanisms, and functions underlying rhythm generation, entrainment, and expression in plants, animals, and humans.

Publications

All Issues

Year	Volume	Issues and pages
2017	32	1 (February) *Current Issue*, pp. 3–93
2016	31	1-6 (Feb., Apr., Jun., Aug., Oct., Dec.) pp. 3–616
2015	30	1-6 (Feb., Apr., Jun., Aug., Oct., Dec.) pp. 3–459
2014	29	1-6 (Feb., Apr., Jun., Aug., Oct., Dec.) pp. 3–469
2013	28	1-6 (Feb., Apr., Jun., Aug., Oct., Dec.) pp. 3–367
2012	27	1-6 (Feb., Apr., Jun., Aug., Oct., Dec.) pp. 3–431
2011	26	1-6 (Feb., Apr., Jun., Aug., Oct., Dec.) pp. 3–564
2010	25	1-6 (Feb., Apr., Jun., Aug., Oct., Dec.) pp. 3–468
2009	24	1-6 (Feb., Apr., Jun., Aug., Oct., Dec.) pp. 3–535
2008	23	1-6 (Feb., Apr., Jun., Aug., Oct., Dec.) pp. 3–542
2007	22	1-6 (Feb., Apr., Jun., Aug., Oct., Dec.) pp. 3–561
2006	21	1-6 (Feb., Apr., Jun., Aug., Oct., Dec.) pp. 3–518
2005	20	1-6 (Feb., Apr., Jun., Aug., Oct., Dec.) pp. 3–560
2004	19	1-6 (Feb., Apr., Jun., Aug., Oct., Dec.) pp. 3–556
2003	18	1-6 (Feb., Apr., Jun., Aug., Oct., Dec.) pp. 3–523
2002	17	1-6 (Feb., Apr., Jun., Aug., Oct., Dec.) pp. 3–579
2001	16	1-6 (Feb., Apr., Jun., Aug., Oct., Dec.) pp. 3–593
2000	15	1-6 (Feb., Apr., Jun., Aug., Oct., Dec.) pp. 3–536
1999	14	1-6 (Feb., Apr., Jun., Aug., Oct., Dec.) pp. 3–624
1998	13	1-6 (Feb., Apr., Jun., Aug., Oct., Dec.) pp. 3–538
1997	12	1-6 (Feb., Apr., Jun., Aug., Oct., Dec.) pp. 3–708
1996	11	1-4 (Mar., Jun., Sep., Dec.) pp. 4–361
1995	10	1-4 (Mar., Jun., Sep., Dec.) pp. 4–350
1994	9	1-2,3/4 (Mar., Jul., Dec.) pp. 1–331
1993	8	1-4 (Apr., Jul., Oct., Dec.) pp. 1–365
1992	7	1-4 (Apr., Jul., Oct., Dec.) pp. 1–359
1991	6	1-4 (Mar., Jun., Sep., Dec.) pp. 1–369
1990	5	1-4 (Mar., Jun., Sep., Dec.) pp. 1–361
1989	4	1-4 (Mar., Jun., Sep., Dec.) pp. 1–490
1988	3	1-4 (Mar., Jun., Sep., Dec.) pp. 1–384
1987	2	1-4 (Mar., Jun., Sep., Dec.) pp. 1–329
1986	1	1-4 (Mar., Jun., Sep., Dec.) pp. 1–325

Most Cited Publications

Year	Volume	Issue	Title	Primary Authors	Times Cited
2011	26	5	A New ImageJ Plug-in “ActogramJ” for Chronobiological Analyses	Benjamin Schmid, Charlotte Helfrich-Förster, Taishi Yoshii	29
2008	23	4	An Endogenous Circadian Rhythm in Sleep Inertia Results in Greatest Cognitive Impairment upon Awakening during the Biological Night	Frank A. J. L. Scheer, Thomas J. Shea, Michael F. Hilton, Steven A. Shea	26
2005	20	3	Short-Wavelength Sensitivity of the Human Circadian System to Phase-Advancing Light	Victoria L. Revell, Josephine Arendt, Michael Terman, Debra J. Skene	16
2003	18	1	Life between Clocks: Daily Temporal Patterns of Human Chronotypes	Till Roenneberg, Anna Wirz-Justice, Martha Merrow	100+
2002	17	2	Comparisons of the Variability of Three Markers of the Human Circadian Pacemaker	Elizabeth B. Klerman, Hayley B. Gershengorn, Jeanne F. Duffy, Richard E. Kronauer	75
1997	12	5	Salivary Melatonin as a Circadian Phase Marker: Validation and Comparison to Plasma Melatonin	Athena Voultsios, David J. Kennaway, Drew Dawson	61

Most Read Publications

Year	Volume	Issue	Title	Primary Authors
2016	31	6	In-depth Characterization of Firefly Luciferase as a Reporter of Circadian Gene Expression in Mammalian Cells	Kevin A. Feeney, Marrit Putker, Marco Brancaccio, John S. O’Neill
2016	31	6	Differential Phasing between Circadian Clocks in the Brain and Peripheral Organs in Humans	Jacob J. Hughey, Atul J. Butte
2015	30	4	Circadian Clocks in the Immune System	Nathalie Labrecque, Nicolas Cermakian
2015	30	1	Timing of Examinations Affects School Performance Differently in Early and Late Chronotypes	Vincent van der Vinne, Giulia Zerbini, Anne Siersema, Amy Pieper, Martha Merrow, Roelof A. Hut, Till Roenneberg, Thomas Kantermann
2006	21	6	Neurobiology of the Sleep-Wake Cycle: Sleep Architecture, Circadian Regulation, and Regulatory Feedback	Patrick M. Fuller, Joshua J. Gooley, Clifford B. Saper
2003	18	1	Life between Clocks: Daily Temporal Patterns of Human Chronotypes	Till Roenneberg, Anna Wirz-Justice, Martha Merrow

Publication Process

All publication submissions are processed through SAGE Publishing. Manuscripts that do not maintain sufficient quality and meet the aims and scope of the Journal of Biological Rhythms will not be reviewed. The journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics and thus requests that all submissions abide by the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals formulated by the International Committee of Medical journal Editors (ICMJE). The researcher must have submitted an original manuscript that is neither being considered for publication elsewhere nor has been published elsewhere. For any copyright works that are not owned by the relevant researchers, it is required that they supply all necessary permissions for its reproduction. The journal maintains no publication charges except in cases of heavy color printing and exceptionally long articles.

Editors

The journal's current Editor-in-Chief is William J. Schwartz, a professor in the department of neurology at The University of Texas at Austin. The journal's Deputy Editor is Dave Weaver, a professor at University of Massachusetts Medical School in the department of neurobiology.[4] The journal's founding editor, Benjamin Rusak, teaches at Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine in Nova Scotia, where he researches the effects of sleep and circadian rhythms on human health.[5] The second editor, Fred W. Turek, researches the genetic basis of sleep and circadian rhythms in the department of neurobiology at Northwestern University.[6] Martin Zatz, a researcher at the National Institute for Mental Health best known for his work on the chick pineal gland, was the editor for the Journal of Biological Rhythms from 2000 to 2013.[7] A collection of his editorials, often satirical in nature, was compiled by the Society for Research on Biological Rhythms, or SRBR.[8]

List of Editors-in-Chief:[1]

• Benjamin Rusak (1986-1994)
• Fred W. Turek (1995-1999)
• Martin ("Marty") Zatz (2000-2013)
• William ("Bill") Schwartz (2014–present)

Abstracting and indexing

Journal of Biological Rhythms is abstracted and indexed in, among other databases: SCOPUS, and the Social Sciences Citation Index.

Availability

The full journal is available online on the Journal of Biological Rhythms website through SAGE Publishing. All published issues can be accessed and are searchable by decade, volume, and issue. Articles that appear in each issue can be viewed online or downloaded as a PDF. Journal subscriptions are available at a variety of levels, including options for individuals and institutions for both print and online content. Target audiences include medical professionals and researchers in the field of chronobiology, though the journal's material is accessible to the general public.

Current article abstracts can be viewed on PubMed, with links to the full text redirecting to the Journal of Biological Rhythms website for viewing. Older article texts can also be requested on ResearchGate. The journal also publishes special publication collections consisting of selected articles on a chosen topic. These collections can be viewed on the journal website.

Impact and awards

According to the Journal Citation Reports, its 2015 impact factor is 2.824.[9] Impact factor is the average number of citations per publication by a given journal in a year, and serves as an indicator of readership and relevance. Research Gate gives the journal a 2015/2016 Impact Factor of 2.38.[10] According to Sage Publications, the journal has a 2015 Five-Year Impact Factor of 3.167, ranking it 19th out of 86 journals under the Biology category, and 29th out of 83 journals under the Physiology category.[11]

References

1. Schwartz, William (February 2014). "Passing the Torch (Or Is It "Passing the LED Lamp" Nowadays?)". Journal of Biological Rhythms. 29 (1): 3. doi:10.1177/0748730413514360.
2. Schwartz, William (February 2016). "Thirty Years". Journal of Biological Rhythms. 31 (1): 3. doi:10.1177/0748730415627080. PMID 26759427.
3. Schwartz, William J. April 26, 2017. Personal Interview.
4. "David Weaver | Profiles RNS".
5. "Benjamin Rusak".
6. "Fred Turek: Department of Neurobiology - Northwestern University".
7. "Zatz, Martin". 2016-12-31.
8. "JBRish | SRBR: Society for Research on Biological Rhythms".
9. "InCites™ [v2.36] - Sign In". jcr.incites.thomsonreuters.com. Retrieved 2017-04-11.
10. "Journal of Biological Rhythms RG Impact & Description - ResearchGate - Impact Rankings ( 2015, 2016 and 2017 )". ResearchGate. Retrieved 2017-04-11.
11. "Journal of Biological Rhythms | SAGE Publications Inc". us.sagepub.com. 2015-10-28. Retrieved 2017-04-11.

External links

• Official website