Submissions

Author Guidelines

Information for Authors

Contents

• 1. Scope and Objectives
• 2. Editorial Freedom
• 3. Copyright and Author Rights
• 4. Publication Fees
• 5. ORCID
• 6. Authorship Criteria
• 7. Changes in Authorship
• 8. Author Contribution
• 9. Acknowledgements
• 10. Corresponding Author
• 11. Writing Support
• 12. Cover Letter
• 13. Conflict of Interest and Funding Sources
• 14. Confidentiality Policy
• 15. Originality
• 16. Patient Consent
• 17. Clinical Trial Results and Registration
• 18. Data Sharing
• 19. Preprint Policy
• 20. Publication Integrity and Plagiarism Policy
• 21. Fast-Track Publication
• 22. Peer Review Process
• 23. How to Respond to Peer Review?
• 24. Proofreading
• 25. Errata
• 26. Retractions
• 27. Advertising Policy
• 28. Supplement Publication Policy
• 29. Position on the Use of Artificial Intelligence
• 30. Submission Guidelines
• 31. Declarations and Forms
• 32. Information for Reviewers
• 33. Supplement Publication Policy
• 34. Artificial Intelligence Positioning

1. Scope and Objectives

Sinapse is an international, peer-reviewed medical journal dedicated to publishing scientific content relevant to physicians treating individuals with neurological disorders, as well as to other healthcare professionals interested in the structure and function of the nervous system in both health and disease.

The journal targets a multidisciplinary audience that includes physicians, nurses, nutritionists, pharmacists, psychologists, physiotherapists, epidemiologists, clinical researchers, healthcare managers and administrators, and scientists working in basic and translational research.

Sinapse is a scientific journal owned by the Portuguese Society of Neurology (SPN), published in electronic format.

Sinapse is the official scientific publication of the following scientific organizations:

• Sociedade Portuguesa de Neurologia
• Sociedade Portuguesa de Neurocirurgia
• Sociedade Portuguesa do Acidente Vascular Cerebral
• Sociedade Portuguesa de Cefaleias
• Sociedade Portuguesa de Doenças do Movimento
• Sociedade Portuguesa de Estudos de Doenças Neuromusculares
• Sociedade Portuguesa de Neurofisiologia Clínica e Medicina do Sono
• Sociedade Portuguesa de Neuropatologia
• Sociedade Portuguesa de Neuropediatria
• Liga Portuguesa Contra a Epilepsia
• Grupo de Estudos de Envelhecimento Cerebral e Demências
• Grupo de Estudos de Esclerose Múltipla
• Conselho Português para o Cérebro

2. Editorial Freedom

Sinapse adopts the definition of editorial freedom of the International Committee of Medical Journals Editors (ICMJE) described by the World Association of Medical Editors, establishing that the Editor-in-Chief assumes full authority over the editorial content of the journal. The Portuguese Society of Neurology, as owner of the Sinapse, does not interfere in the process of evaluation, selection, programming or editing of any manuscript and the Editor-in-Chief has full editorial independence.

3. Copyright and Author Rights

All articles published in Sinapse are open access and comply with the requirements of funding agencies and academic institutions. Regarding third-party use, Sinapse operates under the terms of the Creative Commons license Attribution -- NonCommercial -- CC BY-NC 4.0.

It is the author's responsibility to obtain permission to reproduce figures, tables, etc., from other publications.

Upon submission of a manuscript, authors must complete the "Authorship Responsibility and Publication Authorization Statement" (insert download link) and the "Declaration of Potential Conflicts of Interest" (insert download link). A confirmation email will be sent to the corresponding author upon receipt of the manuscript.

Authors are permitted to deposit their articles in their institutional repositories, provided that the original source of publication is acknowledged and the reuse complies with the terms of the Creative Commons license.

4. Publication Fees – Platinum Open Access

Sinapse is a platinum open-access journal and does not charge any author fees (APC – article processing charges).

All articles published by Sinapse are made freely and permanently accessible online immediately upon publication, without charges.

5. ORCID

Sinapse requires ORCID iDs for the corresponding author and encourages all authors to provide their ORCID iDs as well. We strongly believe that the increased use and integration of ORCID iDs will benefit the entire scientific community. For more information and to register, please visit ORCID.org.

6. Authorship Criteria

Sinapse follows the authorship guidelines established by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) in its Recommendations on the Role of Authors and Contributors. (http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/roles-and-responsibilities/defining-the-role-of-authors-and-contributors.html)

A declaration of individual contributions, signed by each author, must be submitted using the "Authorship Responsibility and Publication Authorization Statement" (insert link).

All individuals designated as authors must meet the four authorship criteria listed below, and all those who meet these criteria must be identified as authors.

Collaborators who do not meet all four authorship criteria but contributed to the study or manuscript should be acknowledged in the Acknowledgements section, with their specific contributions clearly stated.

The mere acquisition of funding, data collection, or general supervision of the research group does not constitute authorship.

Each manuscript must designate a Corresponding Author. The corresponding author is responsible for obtaining written permission from anyone named in the acknowledgements.

Designated authors should meet all four criteria for authorship in the ICMJE Recommendations:

1. Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND
2. Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; AND
3. Final approval of the version to be published; AND
4. Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

All those designated as authors should meet all four criteria for authorship, and all who meet the four criteria should be identified as authors. Those who do not meet all four criteria should be acknowledged.

Any potential authorship disputes brought to the editors' attention will be handled in line with COPE guidelines.

At the time of submission, authors must declare whether artificial intelligence (AI) – assisted technologies (such as Large Language Models [LLMs], chatbots, or image creators) were used in the production of submitted work. Authors who use such technology should describe, in both the cover letter and the submitted work, how they used it.

Chatbots (such as ChatGPT) should not be listed as authors because they cannot be responsible for the accuracy, integrity, and originality of the work, and these responsibilities are required for authorship. Therefore, humans are responsible for any submitted material that includes the use of AI-assisted technologies. Authors should carefully review and edit the result because AI can generate authoritative-sounding output that can be incorrect, incomplete, or biased. Authors should not list AI and AI-assisted technologies as author or co-author, nor cite AI as an author. Authors should be able to assert that there is no plagiarism in their paper, including in text and images produced by AI. Humans must ensure there is appropriate attribution of all quoted material, including full citations.

7. Changes in Authorship

It is the responsibility of the corresponding author to ensure that the list of authors is accurate both in the online submission system and in the submitted manuscript.

Any changes to the authorship list – such as the addition or removal of an author – between initial submission and acceptance require written consent from all authors, if the manuscript is under consideration for publication. New authors must also confirm that they fully meet the journal's authorship criteria.

No changes to authorship (additions or removals) will be allowed after the manuscript has been accepted for publication.

8. Author Contributions

Sinapse asks all authors to specify their contributions. A brief description of the contribution of everyone listed as an author must be provided (Link Authors Contributorship Statement).

Examples of such statement(s) are:

• All authors contributed to the study conception and design. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
• AA, BB and CC: Material preparation, data collection and analysis.
• DD: Writing the original draft.
• EE: Statistical analysis.
• FF: Conceptualization and supervision.

For more information, consult CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) https://credit.niso.org/

9. Acknowledgments

Any individual who does not qualify as an author, but who contributed to the work described in the manuscript must be named in the Acknowledgements. Particularly, if medical writer(s)/editor(s) have been involved, their role must be explicitly acknowledged, and their affiliation/source of funding must be listed. Authors may also express thanks or note assistance in the Acknowledgements.

Authors should obtain permission to acknowledge from all mentioned in the Acknowledgment section.

10. Corresponding Author

One author is assigned as the Corresponding Author and acts on behalf of all co-authors as the preferred correspondent with the editorial team during the submission and review process. Any author can be the corresponding author, but only one author can perform this role.

The corresponding author is responsible for the following requirements:

• Ensuring that submission requirements are met and submitting the manuscript to the journal;
• Ensuring that all listed authors have approved the manuscript before submission, including the names and order of authors;
• Managing all communication between the Journal and all co-authors, before and after publication;
• Providing transparency on re-use of material; making sure disclosures, declarations and transparency on data statements from all authors are included in the manuscript as appropriate;
• Sending corrections and ensure that the final version of the paper to be published is approved by all the authors.

Third-party submissions

All manuscripts must be submitted by an author and may not be submitted by a third party.

11. Writing Support

If a medical writer was involved in the creation of the manuscript, Sinapse needs a signed statement from the corresponding author to include their name and information about funding of this person. This information should be added to the Acknowledgments and/or Contributors section. We require signed statements from any medical writers declaring that they have been permitted to be named as an author, as a contributor, or in the Acknowledgments section.

12. Cover Letter

Please write a letter explaining why the Editor would be interested in publishing your manuscript. All cover letters must include the following statements:

• We confirm that this manuscript has not been published elsewhere and is not under consideration by any other journal.
• All authors have approved the manuscript and agree with its submission to Sinapse.

13. Conflict of Interest and Funding Sources

All participants in the peer review and publication process – not only authors, but also reviewers, editors, and members of the Sinapse editorial board – must consider their potential conflicts of interest when fulfilling their roles, and must disclose any relationships that could be perceived as potential conflicts of interest.

The accuracy and integrity of the content, as well as the opinions expressed, are the sole responsibility of the authors.

Authors are required to disclose all financial and personal relationships that could bias their work. To avoid ambiguity, authors must explicitly state whether any conflicts of interest exist. All authors must complete and submit the ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest (insert link).

In accordance with ICMJE guidelines, the definitions and scope of these disclosures include:

• Any potential conflicts of interest related to the work under consideration for publication (covering the period from initial conception and planning to final submission);
• Any relevant financial activities outside the submitted work (within the 3 years prior to submission);
• Any other relationships or activities that readers could perceive as having influenced, or appearing to potentially influence, the submitted work (within the 3 years prior to submission).

This information will be kept confidential during peer review and will not influence editorial decisions. However, it will be published if the manuscript is accepted. If no conflicts of interest exist, authors must explicitly state this.

Examples of statements:

• The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
• XXX's work was funded by XXX. They received compensation as a member of the scientific advisory board of XXX. They also provided consultancy services to XXX. YYY and YYYY declare no conflicts of interest.

14. Confidentiality Policy

Submitted manuscripts are considered confidential and embargoed from the moment of submission. In accordance with the Embargo Policy, no information beyond what is included in the abstract may be made public before the manuscript's publication.

Manuscripts that contain a substantial amount of previously published or publicly available information are not eligible for submission, unless such information was published in the form of an abstract, presented in a lecture, or included in an academic thesis.

The Confidentiality and Embargo Policies require that, before the embargo is lifted, all authors involved in the research must not publish or share the information with any third party who may disseminate or publish it by any other means.

15. Originality

Manuscripts must contain original material that is not available elsewhere. However, authors are permitted to submit and present abstracts (e.g., oral or poster presentations) at open scientific meetings.

The title page and cover letter must include a statement confirming the originality of the work and must disclose any abstracts, presentations, reports, or prior publications that may contain content overlapping with the current submission.

Sinapse will not consider for review any manuscript currently under review by another journal.

Authors may post their results in clinical trial registries or submit them to government regulatory agencies (e.g., FDA or EMA) without such actions being considered prior publication or overlapping publication.

Sinapse follows the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) guidelines on overlapping publications: http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/publishing-and-editorial-issues/overlapping-publications.html

In rare cases, Sinapse may consider co-publication of guidelines or consensus manuscripts with a limited number of other journals, provided the following conditions are met:

• A written request must be approved by the Editor-in-Chief prior to submission of the guideline/consensus manuscript, justifying the need for co-publication and specifying the journals involved.
• The Editor-in-Chief of Sinapse is responsible for evaluating the manuscript and determining its suitability for publication.
• Simultaneous online publication of the guideline/consensus manuscript must occur across all participating journals. The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that this coordination takes place.

16. Publication Ethics and Patient Consent

Ethics Approval

When reporting a study that involved human participants, their data or biological material, authors should include a statement that confirms that the study was approved (or granted exemption) by the appropriate institutional and/or national research ethics committee (including the name of the ethics committee and reference number) and certify that the study was performed in accordance with the ethical standards as laid down in the Helsinki Declaration of the World Medical Association updated in 2024.

If a study was granted exemption from requiring ethics approval, this should also be detailed in the manuscript (including the reasons for the exemption).

Manuscript must:

• Include statement on ethics approval and consent (even where the need for approval was waived);
• Include the name of the ethics committee that approved the study and committee´s reference number.

Declarations of research ethics compliance must appear in the Methods section of Original Investigations.

Examples of statements to be used when ethics approval has been obtained:

• All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the Helsinki Declaration updated in 2024. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the ... (Nº. ...)
• This study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki 2024. Approval was granted by the Ethics Committee of .. (Date.../No. ...).

Ethics Approval for Case Studies

Authors of Case Reports should follow their institution's policies about whether ethics approval is required. If such approval is obligatory, the manuscript must include a statement about ethics review/approval. Most institutions will have specific policies on this subject. Since they typically include detailed case descriptions, Case Reports are generally considered to contain identifying information and therefore publication consent must be obtained. Authors should be aware to secure informed consent from the individual (or parent or guardian if the participant is a minor or incapable). See also section on Patient Protections / Informed Consent.

Consent for Publication

Whenever possible, and regardless of the article type, authors should avoid including any information identifying individual patients or participants.

If identifying information is necessary (including any individual details, images or videos), the patient (or legal representative) must be shown the manuscript and sign a written publication consent.

All presentations of case reports must have consent for publication.

Authors can use the Sinapse form (Patient Consent for Publication in Sinapse) or may use another form that contains equivalent elements. In submission, authors will be required to attest that a signed form has been obtained and to provide a copy of the form.

In cases where images are entirely unidentifiable and there are no details on individuals reported within the manuscript, consent for publication of images may not be required. The final decision on whether consent to publish is required lies with the Editor-in-Chief.

Exceptions where it is not necessary to obtain consent:

• Images such as X-rays, laparoscopic images, ultrasound images, and pathology slides, unless there is a concern about identifying information, in which case, authors should ensure that consent is obtained.

Use of Animals in Research

Any experiments involving animals must be demonstrated to be ethically acceptable and, where relevant, conform to national guidelines for animal usage in research.

17. Clinical Trial Registration

The World Health Organization (WHO) definition of a clinical trial is "any research study that prospectively assigns human participants or groups of humans to one or more health-related interventions to evaluate the effects on health outcomes". The WHO defines health interventions as "A health intervention is an act performed for, with or on behalf of a person or population whose purpose is to assess, improve, maintain, promote or modify health, functioning or health conditions" and a health-related outcome is generally defined as a change in the health of a person or population as a result of an intervention.

To ensure the integrity of the reporting of patient-centered trials, authors must register prospective clinical trials (phase II to IV trials) in suitable publicly available repositories. For example, www.clinicaltrials.gov or any of the primary registries that participate in the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform.

The trial registration number (TRN) and date of registration should be included as the last line of the manuscript abstract.

For clinical trials that have not been registered prospectively, authors are encouraged to register retrospectively to ensure the complete publication of all results. The trial registration number (TRN), date of registration and the words 'retrospectively registered' should be included as the last line of the manuscript abstract.

18. Data Sharing

In recognition of the increased attention given to reproducibility of research findings and to enhance opportunities for research collaboration, each manuscript reporting a clinical trial must include a data sharing statement.

Sinapse does not currently have a particular data sharing expectation (beyond the stipulation that data be available for editors' inspection, as detailed in the Research and Publication Integrity section); the requirement is simply that authors be transparent about their data sharing intentions. Data sharing statements should specify the type of data that will be shared (e.g., deidentified, individual participant data underlying the results presented in the manuscript); whether other documents will be available (e.g., study protocol, statistical analysis plan, analytic code); if data will be available, the start and end dates of this availability; with whom data will be shared (e.g., anyone, researchers with a methodologically sound proposal); the types of analyses to be allowed (e.g., any, meta-analysis); and the procedure for requesting access.

Authors are encouraged to review the table in the ICMJE's publication regarding data sharing for further details on the type of information to be included in data sharing statements and possible wording of such statements. Clinical trials that began enrolling participants on or after January 1, 2019, should include a data sharing plan when registering the trial, and should update the registry record if the plan is subsequently modified.

19. Preprint Policy

Sinapse may consider for publication manuscripts containing information that was previously posted on preprint servers. However, authors may not post their articles to a preprint server after submission to Sinapse.

If a report was published on a preprint server before manuscript submission, this must be disclosed at the time of submission. Additionally, a link to the preprint must be provided so that reviewers and editors can evaluate the posted version and compare it with the submitted manuscript. If the manuscript is accepted, Sinapse will include this link with the published article.

Failure to disclose prior dissemination of research on a preprint server or similar platform will negatively affect the submission's status.

Once the manuscript is submitted to Sinapse, no updated versions should be posted to the preprint server during the peer review process. If the manuscript is accepted for publication, no revisions should be posted until the final version is officially published online by Sinapse.

Finally, once the manuscript is published in Sinapse, any future modifications, such as errata, must first be submitted to, approved by, and published by Sinapse before any changes are made to the preprint version.

Violation of this preprint policy may result in the withdrawal of the article.

20. Publication Integrity and Plagiarism Policy

Sinapse considers irresponsible and unethical research practices to include fabrication (invention of data), falsification (tampering with data, including images), misrepresentation (plagiarism, duplicate publication, misattribution), intentional failure to disclose conflict of interests (COIs), or any other behavior that lessens the reliability or integrity of the research record.

Sinapse takes seriously its responsibility to respond to suspicions or allegations of misconduct according to its misconduct handling policy.

For all Original Investigations, authors have a responsibility to report methodology accurately, clearly, and with sufficient detail such that the findings can be independently confirmed, and to retain the underlying data for at least 5 years after study completion, unless questions have been raised regarding the conduct of the research, in which case all relevant data must be retained until all such matters are resolved. Collectively, the authors are responsible for ensuring that the article is an honest, accurate, and transparent account of the study being reported; that no important aspects of the study have been omitted; and that any discrepancies from the study as planned (and, if relevant, registered) have been explained.

If plagiarism is identified, the COPE guidelines on plagiarism will be followed.

21. Fast-Track Publication

Sinapse has a fast-track publication system available for urgent and important manuscripts that meet Sinapse requirements for expedited review and publication. Fast-track publication can be requested through the manuscript submission process, clearly indicating the reason why the manuscript should be considered for expedited review and publication. The Editorial Board will decide whether the manuscript is suitable for expedited publication and will communicate its decision within 48 hours. If the Editor-in-Chief finds the manuscript unsuitable for expedited publication, the manuscript may be proposed for the normal review process, or the authors may withdraw their submission. The editorial decision on manuscripts accepted for expedited review will be made within five working days. If the manuscript is accepted for publication, Sinapse will aim to publish it ahead of print within 16 days.

22. Peer Review Process

Peer-review is the system used to assess the quality of a manuscript before it is published. Independent researchers in the relevant research area assess submitted manuscripts for originality, validity and significance to help the Editor-in-Chief to determine whether the manuscript should be published in the journal.

Manuscripts should be written in a clear, concise, and direct style. In addition, they must not have been published or submitted for publication elsewhere.

Reviewers must respect confidentiality and are not allowed to reveal details of any manuscript in the peer-review process. If reviewers wish to involve a colleague in the review process, they should first obtain permission from the editor.

Reviewers who choose to use AI-assisted technologies to support the review process must declare their use to the editorial team and are responsible for ensuring that any AI-generated content incorporated into the review is accurate and unbiased.

All research articles and most other article types, published in Sinapse, go through a peer-review process. Letters to the Editor or Editorials are evaluated by the Editorial Board but may require an external review.

After evaluating the manuscript, it can be:

• A) Accepted without changes,
• B) Accepted but contingent on minor modifications,
• C) Revaluated after major modifications,
• D) Rejected.

The manuscript is initially reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief and can be rejected at this stage without being sent to the reviewers. The primary acceptance criteria are quality, clarity, and originality. If a manuscript does not comply with the instructions for authors, it can be rejected before being reviewed.

Final acceptance or rejection rests with the Editor-in-Chief or, in the event of a conflict of interest on his part, with one of the Deputy Editors, who reserves the right to refuse any material for publication.

The timeline for this process has been defined as follows:

• Upon receipt of the article, the Editor-in-Chief or one of the Deputy Editors, will send the manuscript to at least two reviewers, provided that it complies with the publication standards and fits the editorial policy. It may be rejected at this stage, without being sent to reviewers.
• The reviewers should respond to the Editor within no more than two weeks with their comments on the manuscript, in addition to any suggestions regarding the acceptance or rejection of the work.
• Upon receiving the reviewer's comments, a first decision will be taken by the Editorial Board within no more than 10 days, either (i) accepting the article for publication with no modifications, (ii) sending the reviewers' and editor's comments to the Authors, in order to proceed as indicated, or (iii) rejecting the article.
• The Authors have 10 days to submit the revised version of the manuscript, complying with the modifications recommended by the experts and the Editorial Board. This version should be uploaded to the Sinapse website, under the same editorial process (i.e., keeping the same ID# as used in the submission), with the changes highlighted in a different color, in addition to a new Supplementary Document answering all the questions raised.
• The Editor-in-Chief has 15 days to decide on the new version, either (i) rejecting, (ii) accepting the new version of the article or (iii) submitting it to one or more external reviewers whose opinion may or may not coincide with those resulting from the first revision.
• In the case that the manuscript is sent back for external review, the experts have two weeks to send their comments and their suggestions regarding the acceptance or rejection for publication.
• After analysis of the reviewers' suggestions, the Editor-in-Chief (i) may accept the article with this new version, (ii) reject it or (iii) request further revisions. In this event, the Authors have 20 days to submit a revised version, which may undergo a further review process by external experts, if the Editor-in-Chief so determines.

The editor's final decision for acceptance-rejection of a submitted paper is based on the following criteria:

• Originality: original subject and/or method, with valuable information and presentation of new results or confirmation of previously verified results.
• Timeliness and/or novelty: topic that is on the agenda of scientific meetings or communications or is a new subject.
• Relevance: applicability of the results to solve real issues in clinical practice.
• Innovation and relevance: advances in scientific and technical knowledge and/or in clinical practice.
• Reliability and scientific validity: high methodological quality.
• Presentation: good writing and text organization (good logical coherence and presentation of the material).

Even though the Editors and Reviewers make every effort to ensure the technical and scientific quality of the manuscripts, the final responsibility for the content (namely the accuracy of the observations as well as the opinions expressed) is the sole responsibility of the Authors.

23. How to Respond to Peer Review?

All reviewer comments must be addressed point by point. Authors should copy the reviewers' comments into a Word document and respond to each one individually.

Each comment should be listed in full, followed by the author's response.

We suggest the following format:

Reviewer 1
Comment 1:
Response:

Authors must also submit two versions of the revised manuscript:

1. A version with tracked changes (showing all modifications);
2. A clean version, with all revisions fully incorporated.

24. Proofreading

Page proofs will be sent to the authors along with a deadline for review, based on Sinapse's publication schedule. The revision must be approved by the corresponding author.

Authors will have 48 hours to review the proofs and report any typographical errors. At this stage, no substantive changes to the article are permitted, apart from corrections of typographical and/or spelling mistakes.

Failure to meet the stated deadline releases Sinapse from the obligation to incorporate the authors' corrections, and the revision may be completed exclusively by the journal's editorial team.

25. Errata

Sinapse publishes corrections, amendments, or retractions to previously published articles if, after publication, errors or omissions are identified that may affect the interpretation of the data or information presented.

Any post-publication changes will be issued in the form of an erratum.

26. Retractions

On rare occasions, when the interpretation or conclusion of an article is substantially undermined, it may be necessary for published articles to be retracted. Sinapse will follow the COPE guidelines in such cases. Retraction notices are linked to the original article. The original article is watermarked as retracted, and the title is amended with the prefix "Retracted article:"

Editorial Expressions of Concern:

When an Editor becomes aware of serious concerns regarding the interpretation or conclusion of a published article, they may choose to publish a statement alerting the readership. Scenarios in which Editorial Expressions of Concern may be published include prolonged investigations of very complex cases and when the concerns may have a significant and immediate impact on public health or public policy.

An Editorial Expression of Concern may be superseded by a subsequent Correction or Retraction but will remain part of the permanent published record.

27. Advertising Policy

The journal sponsors are pharmaceutical industry companies or other companies that generate revenue through advertising. Other expenses are supported by the Portuguese Society of Neurology.

Advertising cannot influence the scientific independence of the journal or editorial decisions and must conform to the general and specific health care and medicines legislation.

Editorial independence is crucial to scholarly publishing, and the editorial team has full authority to decide on the content of the journal. The criteria for editorial decision-making regarding journal content do not include any perceived effect on advertising revenue. The editors have the right to review all new advertising proposed for Sinapse and may reject any advertising deemed not in keeping with the journal's mission.

28. Supplement Publication Policy

Sinapse will consider the publication of sponsored supplements that interest its readers and demonstrate scientific validity. The content must be of sufficient informational value and quality to warrant a separate journal issue and must have a unifying theme.

Submission of a supplement from a symposium or conference must occur promptly; in general, supplements will not be published if the publication date is more than 12 months after the event.

No more than 2 supplements per month will be published.

Publication costs can be borne entirely by the sponsor(s).

A written proposal for the supplement must be submitted to the Editor-in-Chief for consideration. The proposal must contain:

• The Guest Editor's or Coordinator's name, affiliation, and contact information;
• Topic(s) to be covered by the supplement, with a preliminary table of contents;
• If the supplement is to be based on a conference or symposium, information on dates, venue, and financial supporter(s);
• An estimate of the total number of double-spaced manuscript pages; and
• Sponsor(s) of the supplement.

A Guest Editor is a subject expert who is responsible for the content of the supplement, ensuring the quality of each component manuscript and its contribution to a cohesive, coherent whole. The Guest Editor is responsible for ensuring that all manuscripts are in final form before submitting. The Guest Editor may elect to write an introductory piece, but each article must be able to stand on its own. In the absence of a Guest Editor, the authors are fully responsible for ensuring that the articles are consistent with one another and that their manuscripts are in final form before submission. In such cases, a Coordinator is responsible for handling all submissions and facilitating communications between the authors and the editorial office.

Sinapse can provide information on the journal's production schedule and can recommend deadlines for receipt of materials that are intended to allow enough time for review, revision, and reconsideration of the supplement manuscripts. However, any estimated publication date is simply a projection based on the information available at the outset; whether it can be met will depend on the submission of the completed manuscripts in a timely fashion, the nature of the review required, and the extent of mandatory revisions. Ideally, a supplement based on a conference or symposium should be planned so that authors provide the manuscripts to the Guest Editor or Coordinator at the time of the meeting.

The manuscripts must be prepared and submitted according to standards governing regular journal content.

All supplements will undergo an appropriate review of their contents.

Manuscripts will almost invariably require revision; in addition, the Editor-in-Chief reserves the right to reject portions of the supplement or the entire supplement. The editorial office will contact the Guest Editor or Coordinator regarding the decision to accept, reject, or require additional revisions. Once a supplement has been accepted it is formally scheduled for publication; changes to the publication date at this stage cannot be accommodated.

The supplement must contain a statement indicating the source(s) of funding.

Furthermore, the Guest Editor or Coordinator must state what, if any, financial relationship they may have with the sponsor of the supplement. Likewise, all authors should disclose what, if any, financial relationship they have with the sponsor of the supplement, or the manufacturer of any products (or competing products) that are discussed in their manuscripts. Each manuscript must list any support received. If medical writer(s)/editor(s) have been involved, their role must be explicitly acknowledged, and their affiliation/source of funding must be listed. Additionally, if the sponsor has a financial interest in a product either directly or indirectly discussed in the manuscript, this relationship should be identified, along with the name of the product. Information about sponsorship and related products will be published with each article in the supplement.

Articles published in Sinapse supplements are subject to the same copyright restrictions that apply to articles published in regular journal issues.

29. Position on the Use of Artificial Intelligence

The recommendations stipulated by the Committee on Publication Ethics regarding the use of artificial intelligence in scientific research writing will be strictly followed.

Authors:

• At the time of submission, authors must declare whether artificial intelligence (AI) – assisted technologies (such as Large Language Models [LLMs], chatbots, or image creators) have been used in the production of submitted work. Authors who use such technology should describe, in both the cover letter and the submitted work in the appropriate section if applicable, how they used it. For example, if AI was used for writing assistance, describe this in the Acknowledgment. If AI was used for data collection, analysis, or figure generation, authors should describe this use in the Methods.
• Chatbots (such as ChatGPT) should not be listed as authors because they cannot be responsible for the accuracy, integrity, and originality of the work, and these responsibilities are required for authorship. Therefore, humans are responsible for any submitted material that includes the use of AI-assisted technologies. Authors should carefully review and edit the result because AI can generate authoritative-sounding output that can be incorrect, incomplete, or biased.
• Authors should not list AI and AI-assisted technologies as an author or co-author, nor cite AI as an author. Authors should be able to assert that there is no plagiarism in their paper, including in text and images produced by the AI. Humans must ensure there is appropriate attribution of all quoted material, including full citations.

Reviewers:

• Reviewers who choose to use AI-assisted technologies to support the review process must declare their use to the editorial team and are responsible for ensuring that any AI-generated content incorporated into the review is accurate and unbiased.

30. Submission Guidelines

Language

The title, abstract, and keywords must be provided in both English and Portuguese.
Manuscripts submitted to Sinapse must be clearly written in Portuguese (Portugal) or English.

Manuscript Submission

The submission of a manuscript implies that the work described has not been previously published (except in the form of an abstract, a published lecture, or an academic thesis), is not under consideration by another journal, and that the manuscript has been approved by all authors and, either explicitly or implicitly, by the appropriate authorities at the institution where the work was carried out.
If accepted for publication, the manuscript must not be published elsewhere, in the same form, in English or any other language, including electronic formats.

All manuscripts must be accompanied by a cover letter. The letter must include a statement ensuring that the manuscript is not under simultaneous review by any other journal. In addition, authors must declare any potential conflicts of interest and provide a statement of authorship.

To verify originality, manuscripts may be screened using a plagiarism detection service.

Submissions that do not comply with these guidelines may be returned for revision and resubmission.

Manuscripts must be submitted via the Sinapse website:
https://sinapse.pt/index.php/journal/about/submissions

Contact

If you have any questions during the submission process, please contact us.
sinapse.spn@gmail.com

Reporting Standards

Sinapse advocates complete and transparent reporting of research. Authors are recommended to adhere to the reporting guidelines hosted by the EQUATOR Network when preparing their manuscript.

Checklists are available for several study designs, including:

• CONSORT checklist for Randomized Clinical Trials;
• STROBE checklist for Observational Studies;
• PRISMA or MOOSE checklist for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses – interventional and observational studies;
• SPIRIT or PRISMA-P checklist for Study Protocols;
• STARD checklist for Diagnostic Accuracy Studies;
• COREQ checklist for Qualitative Studies;
• CHEERS checklist for Economic Evaluation of Health Interventions;
• STARI checklist for Implementation Studies;
• SQUIRE checklist for Standards for Quality Improvement Reporting Excellence;
• STREGA checklist for Associations between Genetic Factors and Clinical Outcomes;
• CARE checklist for Case Reports.

General Requirements

Manuscripts that do not follow the instructions for authors can be returned for modification before being revised.

The file must be saved in the native format of the word processor. The text should be in a single-column format.

To avoid unnecessary errors, you are strongly advised to use the grammar and spelling checking functions of your word processor.

• Manuscripts should be sent in DOC, DOCX format, and should not be blocked or protected.
• The text of the manuscript should be typed double-spaced. Do not format the text in multiple columns.
• The texts must be formatted in letter "Arial", size 11. Titles and sub-titles must be marked in bold and size 12.
• All margins should be at least 30 mm.
• All pages should be numbered consecutively in the top right-hand corner, beginning in the title page.
• Specify any special characters used to represent characters that are not on the keyboard.

Manuscript Structure

Structure of the manuscript Front page (separate page):

I. Title
Title (concise and objective, preferably with less than 12 words).

II. Authors, affiliations and ORCID
Name of all authors (clinical or professional name) and respective affiliation (department, institution, city) and ORCID iD.

III. Corresponding author
Address and e-mail of the corresponding author.

IV. Under the designation Ethical Considerations, indicate whether there are conflicts of interest and include information about patient protection.

V. Prizes and previous presentations
Prizes and presentations of the study, prior to submission of the manuscript, must be mentioned.

Second Page

I. Abstract
Abstract (maximum word count according to the article type). Please minimize the use of abbreviations and do not cite references in the abstract.

II. Keywords
Keywords (according to the article type) representing the main content of the article. Keywords should be easily searchable in indexing databases using Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terminology found at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/. In the manuscripts that do not require an abstract, the keywords should be presented at the end.

Following pages – Manuscript body

The following pages should include the main text of the article according to the specific sections of each type. After the references, the illustrations should be presented individually on a new page, in the following order: Tables and Figures.

Article Types

Sinapse accepts submissions in the following categories:

1. Original Articles reporting clinical or basic research (clinical trials, cohort studies, case-control studies, and other observational studies);
2. Review Articles;
3. Systematic Reviews, with or without Meta-Analysis;
4. Study Protocols;
5. Case Reports and Case Series;
6. Images in Neurology;
7. Editorials;
8. Letters to the Editor;
9. Perspective Articles;
10. Guidelines and Consensus Statements.

Authors must indicate the type of manuscript being submitted in the cover letter.

a) Original Articles

Previously unpublished manuscripts that describe clinical, preclinical, epidemiological research, clinical trials, clinical observations, and other relevant investigations based on robust patient series, validated analytical methods, and appropriate statistical evaluation.

Structure: Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion and Conclusion, Acknowledgements (if applicable), References, Tables, and Figures.
Abstract: Structured

• Word count: max. 4000 (excluding abstract, tables, and figures)
• Abstract: max. 350 words
• Figures/Tables: up to 6
• References: up to 60

b) Narrative Review Articles

Articles offering a concise and comprehensive review of the current literature on a specific topic.

Abstract: Unstructured (max. 300 words)

• Word count: max. 4000
• Abstract: max. 350 words
• Figures/Tables: up to 6
• References: up to 100

c) Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses

Systematic reviews may or may not include statistical methods (meta-analyses) to summarize and analyze results from included studies.

Structure: Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion.
The subject should be clearly defined, and the review must aim to produce an evidence-based conclusion. The Methods section must include a clear description of the literature search strategy, data extraction, evidence classification, and analysis.
Must follow the PRISMA guidelines (http://www.prisma-statement.org/) and be registered with PROSPERO (https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero).

Abstract: Structured

• Word count: max. 4000
• Abstract: max. 350 words
• Figures/Tables: up to 6
• References: up to 100

d) Study Protocols

A study protocol describes in detail the plan for conducting a specific clinical study, including its objectives and methodology.

Protocols will be published without peer review if they have ethical approval and are funded by a major funding body. Protocols not meeting these criteria will undergo external peer review.

Only planned or ongoing studies will be accepted. Protocols for completed studies will not be considered. Early submission is encouraged.

Requirements:

• Must refer to ongoing or planned research with specific dates included.
• Must have ethics approval (where applicable).
• Must follow EQUATOR guidelines, such as PRISMA-P and SPIRIT.
• Registration is mandatory for clinical trials, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses.
• Trial registration numbers must be included in the abstract.

Abstract: Structured

• Word count: max. 2500
• Abstract: max. 300 words
• Figures/Tables: up to 3
• References: up to 30

e) Case Reports and Case Series

Reports describing unusual or rare findings in up to three patients.

Structure: Introduction, Case Description, and Discussion.
Must follow CARE guidelines (http://www.care-statement.org/).
Due to their nature, authorship should be limited to a maximum of 5 authors. If there are more than 5, the cover letter must clearly justify each author's role per ICMJE criteria.

Patient consent must be obtained, specifying who provided it (e.g., patient, next of kin, legal guardian). Consent forms must be available to the Editor upon request and will be treated confidentially. Identifiable data should be omitted unless scientifically essential. Data must not be altered.

Abstract: Unstructured

• Word count: max. 2000
• Abstract: max. 150 words
• Figures/Tables: up to 4
• References: up to 25
• Authors: max. 5

f) Images in Neurology

Clinically relevant images of uncommon or striking clinical conditions, lab/radiologic findings, or surgical/therapeutic procedures, accompanied by brief explanatory text.

• Word count: max. 500
• Abstract: none
• Figures: up to 4
• References: up to 5
• Authors: max. 4

g) Editorials

Editorials are commissioned by the Editor-in-Chief and are the responsibility of the editorial board. They may address current topics or comment on articles published in the journal.

• Word count: max. 1500
• Abstract: none
• Figures/Tables: up to 2
• References: up to 20

h) Letters to the Editor

Critical comments on articles published in the journal or brief notes on a specific topic or clinical case.

• Word count: max. 600
• Abstract: none
• Figures/Tables: 1
• References: up to 10
• Authors: max. 7

i) Perspective Articles

These manuscripts are usually invited by the Editorial Board, though unsolicited submissions will also be considered. Topics may include biomedicine, public health, research, discovery, prevention, ethics, health policy, or health law.

Authors wishing to propose a manuscript must first send an abstract including the title and author list to the Editor-in-Chief for consideration.

• Word count: max. 1200
• Abstract: none
• Figures/Tables: up to 2
• References: up to 10

j) Guidelines and Consensus Statements

Clinical practice recommendations submitted by working groups from scientific meetings or associations, or by expert groups with relevant experience in the topic.

Manuscripts must be well-organized with precise and clear expression.

• Word count: max. 4000
• Abstract: max. 350 words
• Figures/Tables: up to 6
• References: up to 100

Article type	Abstract	Keywords	Main text structure	Max. words	Tables/figures	References
Original Article	Max. 350 words; structured (Introduction, Methods, Results and Conclusion) Portuguese and English	Up to 6 Portuguese and English	Introduction; Methods; Results; Discussion; Conclusion; Acknowledgments, if any; References; and figure legends, if any	4000	Total up to 6	Up to 60
Review Article	Max. 350 words; unstructured Portuguese and English	Up to 6 Portuguese and English	Introduction; thematic sections at the discretion of the authors; Conclusion; Acknowledgments, if any; References; and figure legends, if any	4000	Total up to 6	Up to 100
Systematic Review	Max. 350 words; structured Portuguese and English	Up to 6 Portuguese and English	PRISMA	4000	Total up to 6	Up to 100
Study Protocols	Max. 300 words; structured Portuguese and English	Up to 6 Portuguese and English	SPIRIT or PRISM-P	2500	Total up to 3	Up to 30
Case Report	Max. 150 words; unstructured Portuguese and English	Up to 6 Portuguese and English	Introduction; Case report; Discussion; Conclusion (optional); References; and figure legends, if any	2000	Total up to 4	Up to 25
Images in Neurology	None	Up to 6 Portuguese and English	Unstructured	500	Total up to 4	Up to 5
Editorial	None	None	Unstructured	1500	Total up to 2	Up to 20
Letter to the Editor	None	Up to 6 Portuguese and English	Unstructured	600	Total up to 1	Up to 10
Current Perspectives	None	Up to 6 Portuguese and English	Unstructured	1200	Total up to 2	Up to 10
Guidelines	Max. 350 words; unstructured Portuguese and English		Introduction; thematic sections at the discretion of the authors; Conclusion(s); Acknowledgments, if any; References; and figure legends, if any	4000	Total up to 6	Up to 100

Style Guide

The Sinapse follows AMA Manual of Style (11^th Edition) and the ICMJE Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals (http://icmje.org/recommendations).

I. References

Citations in the text

Superscript Arabic numerals are used in the text. Authors may be identified, but the reference number must always be given.

References to unpublished data and personal communications should be made directly in the text and should not be numbered. Citation of a reference as "in press" implies that it has been accepted for publication.

Format of the reference list

Make sure that all the references mentioned in the Reference List are cited in the text, and vice-versa. References should be listed using Arabic numerals in the order in which they are cited in the text. The reference list should be added as part of the text, not as a footnote. Reference software specific reference codes are not allowed.

Make sure that the data provided in the references are correct. When copying references, be careful as they may contain errors.

References to published articles should include the name of the first author followed by the names of the other authors, article title, journal name and the year of publication, volume and pages. Journal names should be abbreviated according to the Medline style.

A detailed description of the formats of different reference types can be found in "Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals" (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/uniform_requirements.html). List all the authors if there are six or fewer. Et al. should be added if there are more than six authors.

It is mandatory to indicate the DOI (Digital Object Identifier) in all references that have it.

Articles Examples

Published article:

a) Less than 6 authors

Charvin D, Medori R, Hauser RA, Rascol O. Therapeutic strategies for Parkinson disease: beyond dopaminergic drugs. Nat Rev Drug Discov. 2018;17:804-22. doi: 10.1038/nrd.2018.136.

b) More than 6 authors

Zesiewicz T, Salemi JL, Perlman S, Sullivan KL, Shaw JD, Huang Y, et al. Double-blind, randomized and controlled trial of EPI-743 in Friedreich's ataxia. Neurodegener Dis Manag. 2018;8:233-242. doi: 10.2217/nmt-2018-0013.

c) Article in press

Laroussi S, Bouattour N, Daoud S, Moalla KS, Sakka S, Damak M, Farhat N, Mhiri C. Reversible dementia and seizures due to metformin-induced vitamin B12 deficiency. Encephale. 2024 (in press). doi: 10.1016/j.encep.2023.11.030.

d) Book
Battler A. Stem Cell and Gene-Based Therapy: Frontiers in Regenerative Medicine. Berlin: Springer; 2006.

e) Book chapter

Pagel JF, Pegram GV. The role for the primary care physician in sleep medicine. In: Pagel JF, Pandi-Perumal SR, editors. Primary care sleep medicine. 2nd ed. New York: Springer; 2014.

f) eBook Van Belle G, Fisher LD, Heagerty PJ, Lumley TS. Biostatistics: a methodology for the health sciences [e-book]. 2nd ed. Somerset: Wiley InterScience; 2003 [consultado 2020 Jun 30]. Disponível em: http://eu.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/product

g) Web Page

At a minimum, the full URL must be provided, along with the date the document was accessed. Any other available information – such as author names, publication dates, or reference to an original publication – should also be included if known.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. CMS proposals to implement certain disclosure provisions of the Affordable Care Act. [Accessed January 30, 2018] Available from: http://www.cms.gov

h) Preprint

Uchino S, Taguri M. Epidemiology of cruciate ligament surgery in Japan: A retrospective cohort study from 2014 to 2019. Preprint at: medRxiv 2023.07.06.23292305; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.07.06.23292305

II. Footnotes

Footnotes should be avoided. When necessary, they must be numbered consecutively and appear at the bottom of the appropriate page.

III. Acknowledgements (optional)

Collate acknowledgements in a separate section at the end of the article before the references, to thank all of those who contributed to the study but have no weight of authorship. In this section, you can thank all the sources of support, whether financial, technological or consulting, as well as individual contributions.

IV. Abbreviations

Abbreviations should be used sparingly – only where they ease the reader's task by reducing repetition of long, technical terms. Initially use the word in full, followed by the abbreviation in parentheses. Thereafter use the abbreviation only. This is not needed if the abbreviation is a unit of measure.

V. Numbers

Numbers one through nine, must be written in length, except when they have decimals or if followed by units of measure. Numbers greater than nine are written in digits, except at the beginning of a sentence. The point is to be used as a decimal separator. A thousands separator should not be used.

Numeric ranges must be separated by "–" (for example, 25-30). A space between a value and the respective unit of measure should be used (for example, 25-30 mg), except for percentages (for example, 3%) and temperature values (for example, 5ºC), which must be presented without a space.

VI. Units of Measure

Units of measure in the International System of Units should be used. Measures of length, height, weight and volume should be expressed in metric units (meter, kilogram, or liter) or their decimal multiples. Temperatures should be written in degrees Celsius (°C), blood pressure in millimeters of mercury (mmHg), and hemoglobin in g/dL. All measurements should be referred to in the biochemical or hematological metric system according to the International System of Units (SI).

VII. Names of Diseases

The names of diseases should be written with lowercase initial letter, except for those that contain toponyms or anthroponyms.

VIII. Trade names

Chemical substances should be referred to by the generic name only. Trade names should not be used. Drugs should be referred to by their generic names. If proprietary drugs have been used in the study, refer to these by their generic name, mentioning the proprietary name, and the name and location of the manufacturer, in parentheses.

IX. Names of instruments and equipment

Instruments of measurement, diagnosis or computer programs used in the study and mentioned in the manuscript should be presented in a general manner and by its commercial description, followed by the symbol ® and the name of the manufacturer, in parentheses.

X. Genes, mutations, genotypes and alleles

They must be written in italics. The recommended name should be consulted in a genetic nomenclature database (e.g. HUGO for human genes). Sometimes, it is advisable to indicate the gene synonyms the first time that it appears in the text. Gene prefixes such as those used for oncogenes or cellular localization should be shown in italics.

XI. Tables and Figures

Tables – Tables should be self-contained and complement, but not duplicate, information contained in the text. Number tables consecutively in the text in Arabic numerals. Legends should be concise but comprehensive – the table, legend and footnotes must be understandable without reference to the text. Vertical lines should not be used to separate columns. Column headings should be brief, with units of measurement in parentheses; all abbreviations must be defined in footnotes. Footnote letters (a, b, c, d, etc.) must be used, not symbols and *, **, *** should be reserved for p-values.

Figures – All illustrations (line drawings and photographs) are classified as figures. Figures should be numbered using Arabic numerals and cited in consecutive order in the text. Each figure should have a legend (figure title and other explanatory text).

For photographs of identifiable persons, the authors must obtain a signed consent for publication.

Each Figure and Table included in the manuscript must be referred to in the text: "An abnormal immune response can be at the source of the symptoms of the disease (Fig. 2). It is associated with the other two lesions (Table 1)."

Figure: When referred to in the text is abbreviated as Fig., while Table is not abbreviated. In captions, both words are written unabbreviated.

The submission must be made separately from the text in accordance with the instructions in the platform.

The figure files must be provided in high resolution, 1200 dpi for graphics or line art and 500 dpi for photographs and other images.

The color illustrations are published at no extra cost. Image files should be delivered in one of the following formats:

• JPEG (.jpg)
• Portable Document Format (.pdf)
• PowerPoint (.pptx)
• TIFF (.tif)
• Excel (.xlsx)

All previously published and copyrighted material, including illustrations (figures and tables) must be accompanied by the written permission of the copyright owner, and the authors will have to present it in the submission.

XII. Multimedia Files

The multimedia files must be sent in a separate file with the manuscript. The multimedia material must follow the quality standards of production for publication with no need of any modification or editing. Acceptable files include: MPEG, AVI or QuickTime formats.

XIII. Appendices

Appendices will be published along with the accepted article.

Appendices should be used to submit long or detailed surveys, extensive mathematical calculations and/or item lists. They should be placed after the reference list, if necessary, with captions.

If more than one appendix is present, they should be identified as A, B, etc. Formulas and equations in appendices must be numbered separately: (A.1), (A.2), etc.; the next appendix should be named, (B.1) and so on. Similarly, for tables and figures, they should be named: Table A. 1; Fig. 1; A.1, etc.

31. Declarations

• Cover Letter (link)
• Ethics Approval
• Consent for Publication (link)
• Conflict of Interests statement (link)
• Authors' contribution statement (link)
• Acknowledgements
• Sinapse License Agreement
• Personal Communications
• Use of Copyright-Protected Material

Before submitting a manuscript, authors must prepare the following documents:

The Cover Letter (template available here) should be written and signed by the corresponding author and include the relevant data to justify the article's publication and its originality. Moreover, the cover letter must state that the manuscript has not been submitted to any other journal than Sinapse, has not been previously published, adheres to the structure and style of the Sinapse, complies with ethical and legal guidelines, and indicates sources of funding (if applicable).

The Authors Contributorship Statement (template available here) should be filled out by the corresponding author and signed by all authors, specifying the contribution of each author and his/her responsibility for the data validity of the article's content. Finally, each author should confirm the copyright policy.

Conflicts of Interest Disclosure (ICMJE template, available here). Authors must declare any potential conflicts of interest that could cause a bias (or be seen as a bias) in the conduct of their work in the individual ICMJE template declaration. Consequently, authors must disclose all financial and personal relationships related to the submitted work. They should also identify any benefits associated with article's publication, including stock or economic interests in companies or other institutions, wages or awards, grants or other forms of funding, consulting, patent rights, or other financial relations. The existence of conflicts of interest in publishing an article does not constitute a reason for rejection, as long as the said conflicts are appropriately declared. For any queries on what constitutes a relevant financial or personal interest, the authors should contact the Editor-in-Chief.

When applicable, authors should also submit:

• Consent for Publication;
• Informed Consent of each participant;
• Authorization to Reproduce/use (copyright-protected material) previously published material (for example Figures);
• Declaration of Approval by the Ethics Committees of the institutions involved;
• Acknowledgements;
• Personal Communications.

All documents must be provided during the submission process, preferably through the online platform https://sinapse.pt/index.php/journal/about/submissions

32. Information for Reviewers

Sinapse reviewers are expected to act in accordance with the principles of responsibility, integrity, confidentiality, impartiality, and objectivity, and to carry out their reviewing duties with full transparency.

All submitted manuscripts are initially assessed by the Editor-in-Chief or an Associate Editor for suitability for peer review. To save time for both authors and reviewers, only manuscripts that are considered likely to meet editorial standards are sent for formal review.

Manuscripts selected for formal peer review are evaluated by at least two reviewers. Based on their reports, the Editor-in-Chief or an Associate Editor will decide to:

• Accept the manuscript, with or without minor revisions;
• Invite the authors to revise the manuscript in response to specific concerns before making a final decision;
• Reject the manuscript, usually due to lack of novelty, insufficient conceptual advancement, or major technical and/or interpretative flaws.

Reviewer Selection

Reviewer selection is a critical part of the review process. Reviewers are chosen based on multiple factors, including subject expertise, reputation, specific recommendations, and prior experience. Reviewers are invited by the Editor-in-Chief or an Associate Editor and will only gain access to the full manuscript after accepting the invitation.

Writing the Review Report

The most useful reviewer reports are those that present clear, reasoned arguments and avoid recommending a specific editorial decision in the comments intended for authors.

While the main goal of a reviewer report is to provide the editorial team with the information needed to make a decision, it should also help authors improve their manuscript.

Reviewers are asked to submit confidential comments to the Editor-in-Chief or Associate Editor, separate from the comments that may be shared directly with the authors.

Reviewers are expected to maintain a constructive, impartial, and critical attitude. Feedback should be professional and respectful; offensive or disparaging language is not acceptable.

When possible, a negative review should clearly explain the manuscript's weaknesses so that authors understand the basis for a revision request or rejection.

Confidentiality

Reviewers must treat the review process as strictly confidential. Manuscripts should not be discussed with anyone not directly involved in the review process.

Timeliness

Sinapse is committed to prompt editorial decisions and timely publication. A swift review process is a valuable service to our authors and to the broader scientific community.
We therefore ask reviewers to respond promptly to invitations and inform us as soon as possible if they expect significant delays. This helps us keep authors informed and, if necessary, assign alternative reviewers.

Conflicts of Interest

Since the Editor-in-Chief and Associate Editors may not be aware of all potential conflicts, reviewers are asked to declare any possible conflicts of interest and decline to review manuscripts if they feel unable to be objective.

For further guidance, please refer to: https://publicationethics.org/

Final Note – For more comprehensive guidance on this topic, we recommend reading the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), available at: http://www.icmje.org

33. Supplement Publication Policy

Sinapse will consider the publication of sponsored supplements that interest its readers and demonstrate scientific validity. The content must be of sufficient informational value and quality to warrant a separate journal issue and must have a unifying theme.

Submission of a supplement from a symposium or conference must occur promptly; in general, supplements will not be published if the publication date is more than 12 months after the event.

No more than 2 supplements per month will be published.

Publication costs can be borne entirely by the sponsor(s).

A written proposal for the supplement must be submitted to the Editor-in-Chief for consideration. The proposal must contain:

• The Guest Editor's or Coordinator's name, affiliation, and contact information;
• Topic(s) to be covered by the supplement, with a preliminary table of contents;
• If the supplement is to be based on a conference or symposium, information on dates, venue, and financial supporter(s);
• An estimate of the total number of double-spaced manuscript pages;
• Sponsor(s) of the supplement.

A Guest Editor is a subject expert who is responsible for the content of the supplement, ensuring the quality of each component manuscript and its contribution to a cohesive, coherent whole. The Guest Editor is responsible for ensuring that all manuscripts are in final form before the submission. The Guest Editor may elect to write an introductory piece, but each article must be able to stand on its own.

In the absence of a Guest Editor, the authors are fully responsible for ensuring that the articles are consistent with one another and that their manuscripts are in final form before submission. In such cases, a Coordinator is responsible for handling all submissions and facilitating communications between the authors and the editorial office.

Sinapse can provide information on the journal’s production schedule and can recommend deadlines for receipt of materials that are intended to allow enough time for review, revision, and reconsideration of the supplement manuscripts. However, any estimated publication date is simply a projection based on the information available at the outset; whether it can be met will depend on the submission of the completed manuscripts in a timely fashion, the nature of the review required, and the extent of mandatory revisions. Ideally, a supplement based on a conference or symposium should be planned so that authors provide the manuscripts to the Guest Editor or Coordinator at the time of the meeting.

The manuscripts must be prepared and submitted according to standards governing regular journal content.

All supplements will undergo an appropriate review of their contents.

Manuscripts will almost invariably require revision; in addition, the Editor-in-Chief reserves the right to reject portions of the supplement or the entire supplement. The editorial office will contact the Guest Editor or Coordinator regarding the decision to accept, reject, or require additional revisions. Once a supplement has been accepted it is formally scheduled for publication; changes to the publication date at this stage cannot be accommodated.

The supplement must contain a statement indicating the source(s) of funding.

Furthermore, the Guest Editor or Coordinator must state what, if any, financial relationship they may have with the sponsor of the supplement. Likewise, all authors should disclose what, if any, financial relationship they have with the sponsor of the supplement, or the manufacturer of any products (or competing products) that are discussed in their manuscripts. Each manuscript must list any support received. If medical writer(s)/editor(s) have been involved, their role must be explicitly acknowledged, and their affiliation/source of funding must be listed. Additionally, if the sponsor has a financial interest in a product either directly or indirectly discussed in the manuscript, this relationship should be identified, along with the name of the product. Information about sponsorship and related products will be published with each article in the supplement.

Articles published in Sinapse supplement are subject to the same copyright restrictions that apply to articles published in regular journal issues.

34. Artificial Intelligence Positioning

The recommendations stipulated by the Committee on Publication Ethics regarding the use of artificial intelligence in scientific research writing will be strictly followed.

Authors:

At the time of submission, authors must declare whether artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted technologies (such as Large Language Models [LLMs], chatbots, or image creators) have been used in the production of submitted work. Authors who use such technology should describe, in both the cover letter and the submitted work in the appropriate section if applicable, how they used it. For example, if AI was used for writing assistance, describe this in the Acknowledgment. If AI was used for data collection, analysis, or figure generation, authors should describe this use in the Methods.

Chatbots (such as ChatGPT) should not be listed as authors because they cannot be responsible for the accuracy, integrity, and originality of the work, and these responsibilities are required for authorship. Therefore, humans are responsible for any submitted material that includes the use of AI-assisted technologies. Authors should carefully review and edit the result because AI can generate authoritative-sounding output that can be incorrect, incomplete, or biased.

Authors should not list AI and AI-assisted technologies as an author or co-author, nor cite AI as an author. Authors should be able to assert that there is no plagiarism in their paper, including in text and images produced by the AI. Humans must ensure there is appropriate attribution of all quoted material, including full citations.

Reviewers:

Reviewers who choose to use AI-assisted technologies to support the review process must declare their use to the editorial team and are responsible for ensuring that any AI-generated content incorporated into the review is accurate and unbiased.

July 2025