How to Submit

Use these instructions for preparing and submitting abstracts for Neuroscience 2018:

Preparing the Abstract

To submit your abstract, you will need the following information readily available:

• Title and body of your abstract
• Pictures, graphs, and/or tables associated with your abstract
• Name, affiliation, and conflict of interest information for all authors
• Presentation preference
• Linking group information, if applicable
• Support/grant information

Enter the submission site and begin submissions well in advance of the deadline (May 3). The submission process is very detailed and requires the entry of specific information (including email addresses of co-authors and conflict of interest information). The primary cause of error in abstract submission occurs when the user is unfamiliar with the submission site and rushes to submit work at the last minute.

The body of the abstract should be no more than 2,300 characters, including punctuation but not spaces. Use this range as a frame of reference, then count characters and revise accordingly. Use standard abbreviations. When using abbreviations for chemical compounds, spell it out in full for the first mention, followed by the abbreviation in parentheses. Do not abbreviate compounds in the abstract title.

Submission Form

The submission form requests the following information.

NOTE: If you are planning to create a linking group, the selected presentation preference and theme and topic must be the same for all members of your group. Any deviation may result in members of your group being sessioned separately. No more than two members of a nanosymposium linking group can be from the the same lab.

• Title: Titles are limited to 1,200 characters, including spaces. The title of the abstract should incorporate all words critical for the subject of the abstract. Write your title in sentence case (first word is capitalized; remaining words are lower case). Do not bold or italicize your full title.
  
  
• Presentation Preference: Authors may select from four presentation formats when submitting an abstract: "Nanosymposium Preferred," "Dynamic Poster Preferred," "Poster Only," or "No Preference." The "Nanosymposium Preferred" selection indicates that you would like a nanosymposium session, but will accept a poster format if necessary. Marking "Poster Only" indicates that you would only like to be considered for a poster session. Selecting "Dynamic Poster Preferred" indicates that you would like to be assigned to a dynamic poster, but will accept the traditional paper poster format if necessary. Selecting "No Preference" indicates the author's willingness to be placed in the best format for the program. Abstracts will be assigned to only one presentation format.
  
  
• Linking Groups: To propose that your abstract be grouped with others in the same poster session or nanosymposium, create or join a linking group. The Program Committee will consider abstract grouping requests during the session building process, however, requests are not guaranteed. Group size is limited to 14 nanosymposium-preferred abstracts or 20 poster-only abstracts.
  
  To create a linking group, one submitter must request a linking group name and share the name with each submitter that wishes to be a part of the group. Each submitter must join the linking group within their individual abstract submission via the Linking Group step.
  
  To be considered for sessioning as a group, each abstract in a linking group must have the same presentation preference and theme, subtheme, and topic selection associated with their abstract. When joining an existing linking group, your abstract's theme, subtheme, and topic will be automatically completed to match the theme, subtheme, and topic submitted by the group's creator.
  
  Changing your abstract's theme, subtheme, and topic so that it differs from the linking group will result in expulsion from the linking group. The second-choice theme, subtheme and topic is allowed to vary among linking group members, when applicable.
  
  By creating a linking group, you are agreeing to have your email address included in the Special Linking Group Report, available within the submission site. This report lists all linking groups that have been created by submitters, the name and contact information for the linking group's creator, and the linking group's description. The report is accessible to all SfN abstract submitters, who may contact you in regards to joining your linking group.
  
  
• Theme and Topic: Selection of a theme, subtheme, and topic for the abstract allows submitters to "self-identify" the area of neuroscience in which the abstract fits. This identification is the first step in sorting abstracts for the Program Committee, who will take this identification into consideration and place related abstracts with similar topics into the same session. Selection of a primary theme and topic is required. Selection of a secondary theme and topic is optional, but often helpful to the program committee.
  
  If you have joined a linking group, your first-choice theme and topic selection must be the same for all linking group members. Any variance will result in expulsion from the group.
  
  
• Nanosymposium Information: Those who initiate a nanosymposium proposal by selecting "Nanosymposium Preferred" as their presentation preference and creating a linking group must suggest a nanosymposium chair, indicate their preferred order of presentation, and provide a brief explanation about the merit of their proposed session. Only the creator of the linking group is responsible for providing this information. Those who are joining an existing nanosymposium linking group can assume that the group's creator has completed this information and should skip this step.
  
  Submitters who choose "Nanosymposium Preferred" as their presentation preference but are not part of a linking group may use this step to detail why their results are important and what type of larger theme would be appropriate for the abstract. This will help the Program Committee create more cohesive nanosymposium sessions by theme and topic.
  
  
• Keywords: Keywords help users of the Neuroscience Meeting Planner and the annual meeting mobile app to find abstracts. Select up to three words from the list provided. Submitters may also opt to create their own keywords.
  
  
• Authors: List all authors who contributed to the work discussed in the abstract. The presenting author must be listed in the first author slot of the list and will receivea ll correspondence regarding the abstract. Be prepared to submit contact information as well as conflict of interest information for each author listed.
  
  Submitters will also be asked to identify their abstract's senior author(s). The senior author(s) represent the principal investigator(s) of the lab where the work described in the abstract was completed. Senior author(s) should be listed towards the end of the author block.
  
  
• Abstract: Enter the body of the abstract and attach any applicable graphic files or tables here. Do not re-enter the title, author, support, or other information that is collected in other steps of the submission form. The abstract body is limited to 2,300 characters, not including spaces. Including a table reduces the character count by 350 characters. Including a graphic reduces the character counter by 500 characters.
  
  
• Support: Enter the source(s) of research support. Grant numbers may be listed here.
  
  
• Special Requests: This step will allow you to do the following:
  • Request that your abstract be presented as a dynamic poster
  • Designate the submitting author as a senior author
  • Designate the presenting author as a high school or undergraduate student
  • Indicate religious conflicts
  • Specify scheduling conflicts
  
  The Program Committee will take special requests into  consideration, but they are not guaranteed.

Deadlines and Payment

Submit and finalize your abstract by Thursday, May 3, 5 p.m. EDT, including payment of the nonrefundable $135 submission fee. Abstracts submitted and finalized by Thursday, May 3, 5 p.m. EDT may be "unlocked" for editing through Monday, May 7, 5 p.m. EDT. After this date, the abstract is locked and no further changes can be made. Fees paid for SfN membership and the abstract handling fee are nonrefundable.

Confirmation of Session Information and Audiovisual Requests

Only the first/presenting author will receive notifications, via email, of the abstract's status. This information is sent in two emails:

• The first notification in late-June will include the assigned presentation format, session title, and session date/time for accepted abstracts. This preliminary information is provided prior to the opening of meeting registration.
• A second email sent in mid-July will include the specific presentation time within the overall session and a request for the author to submit audiovisual equipment specifications.

If no email address is supplied or if an incorrect email address is listed, information will not reach the first/presenting author. Contact SfN staff at program@sfn.org to change contact information.

To ensure that you receive all SfN correspondence, add sqlautonotice@coetruman.com, program@sfn.org, SfN_Program@abstractsonline.com, and sfn@support.ctimeetingtech.com to your email "safe senders" list.