Scope and Objectives of the Journal

Ali Journal of Neurosciences (AJNS) is the official journal of Ali Institute of Neurosciences, Irfan General Hospital, Peshawar. It is a peer-reviewed, biannual journal published in June and December.

AJNS provides a dedicated platform for the dissemination of research across the full spectrum of neurosciences, including but not limited to:

• Neurosurgery
• Neurology
• Neuroradiology
• Neuropsychiatry
• Neurorehabilitation
• Neuropathology
• Neuropharmacology
• Pain Medicine
• Spine Surgery
• Allied and Translational Neurosciences

The journal follows the guidelines of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) available at www.icmje.org, and accepts submissions from clinicians, researchers and early-career investigators working in the neurosciences.

AJNS publishes the following categories:

• Original Research Articles
• Short Communications
• Review Articles
• Case Reports
• Editorials
• Book Reviews
• Biographical Notes
• Conference Reports

Aims of AJNS

• To provide a platform for neurosurgical and neurosciences research in Pakistan and globally
• To promote ethical and high-quality academic publication
• To support early-career researchers through structured and accessible submission guidelines

Authorship

AJNS follows the ICMJE Authorship Criteria, requiring that all listed authors:

1. Contribute substantially to the conception/design, data acquisition or data interpretation
2. Participate in drafting or revising the manuscript critically
3. Approve the final version of the manuscript
4. Agree to be accountable for the integrity of the work

Privacy Statement

Names, email addresses and institutional details provided during submission will be used solely for journal communication and will not be shared with third parties.

Conflict of Interest

A separate Conflict of Interest Declaration must be submitted by all authors. Any financial or personal relationships that may bias the research should be clearly disclosed.

Open Access Policy

AJNS is an open access journal. All content is freely available for reading, downloading, copying and distribution without subscription fees. Articles are published under Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial License (CC BY-NC).

Plagiarism Policy

All submissions are screened using plagiarism detection software.
Maximum acceptable similarity index: 19%.
Manuscripts exceeding this limit will be returned for revision or rejected.

Copyright Declaration

Upon acceptance, authors must confirm that:

• The manuscript is original and not under review elsewhere
• Copyright is transferred to AJNS
• All authors meet the ICMJE authorship criteria
• They agree to abide by AJNS policies

Submission Checklist

Before submission, ensure:

• Manuscript is not submitted elsewhere
• File format is MS Word (.doc or .docx)
• References include URLs where applicable
• Times New Roman, size 12, single spacing used throughout
• Tables and figures are placed within the text at relevant points
• Manuscript follows Vancouver referencing style

Submission Documents Required

1. Title Page
• Full names, qualifications, affiliations, emails and contact numbers
• Identification of Principal Author and Corresponding Author
• Declaration of no prior submission elsewhere
• Statement on Conflicts of Interest
2. Authorship Contribution Form (ICMJE-based)
3. Cover Letter
4. Ethical Approval Letter (for human/animal studies)
5. Plagiarism Report (preferable but not mandatory)

Manuscript Structure

AJNS accepts the following formats:

1. Original Articles
2. Short Communications
3. Review Articles
4. Case Reports
5. Editorials

General Formatting:

• Times New Roman, size 12, single-spaced, 1-inch margins
• Title: UPPERCASE, font size 14, center aligned, ≤150 characters

Main Sections (for Original Articles):

1. All manuscripts should be submitted online through the journal website after registering at https://ajnsonline.com/index.php/ajns
2. Manuscripts should be in MS Word format, typed in Times New Roman font size 12, single spaced with one-inch margins all around the page. The title should be in capital letters, font size 14, center-aligned and not more than 150 letters (including spaces). It should reflect the study objectives and/or main results.
3. The names of authors should be written below the title with the Principal Author/Investigator written first, unless otherwise specified. The First author is also considered the Corresponding Author, unless otherwise specified. Complete names, qualifications, designations, postal addresses, email addresses and contact numbers of all authors are to be submitted.
4. The Abstract should be of structured format with subheadings of Introduction, Methods, Results, and Conclusions, followed by 3-10 Key Words basedon MeSH (http://www.pubmed.gov) indexing.

Each section of the abstract should be concise and contain content relevant to the study objectives, study design, data collection, main results and brief conclusion; the abstract should contain 200-250 words.

1. The Introduction should have three components, written as sequential paragraphs: the first portion should Identify and State the Problem Under Study, with supportive references and epidemiological data based on a recent (within last 5 years) literature search; the second part should be a Literature Review, giving a brief account of the major research studies on the problem along with the milestones, highlights and failures to date. Preferably this should be based on research within the last 5-10 years. The third part of Introduction is the Rationale of the Study, where the importance of the study is presented. It should describe why it is necessary to carry out the research, what would be gained from it and what would be lost if the research were not done.
2. The Aim and Objectives are written at the end of Introduction. Though writing an aim is not essential, writing the objectives are essential and papers would not be accepted without written objectives in the standard SMART format.
3. Any Hypothesis, if written, should be based on clear understanding and description of both Null and Alternate states; some justification should be given as to why the alternate hypothesis was developed and what would be the possible consequences of putting the findings in practice should the null get rejected on the basis of the research study.
4. The Methods should follow a standard checklist based on Settings, Duration, Population & Sample, Selection Criteria, Study Design, Sampling Technique, Sample Size, Method of Data Collection and Data Analysis. Sufficient details of materials used, and methods adopted should be provided to enable other researchers to replicate the study in case they wish to do so. For data analysis, mention the main variables, their types, what calculations and analyses were done, what tests of significance were used and the p value considered significant.
5. The Results should be presented in an integrated manner in tables, figures, illustrations, etc. with supportive and explanatory text. A good approach is to have a table for demographic data, followed by tables or figures with specific data to be presented. Most articles should be able to summarize their findings in up to 4 tables and 2 figures. The captions of tables should be on the top of the table serially numbered in Roman (Table I, Table II, etc.); the captions for figures should be at the bottom and serially numbered in Roman separately (Figure I, Figure II, etc.). These should be cited in relevant accompanying text so that the reader can find the results being referred to.
6. The Discussion is a very important part of an article and should not be used to describe the results in repetition; rather it is meant to explain and interpret the results and provide readers with a comprehensive picture of how the researchers have viewed their results in light of their objectives. It should be mentioned how the results strengthen a hypothesis or help in making a decision regarding the null hypothesis. A recommended technique is to discuss the main findings of the study first, giving reasons for the plausibility or otherwise of the findings. Demographic and other supportive data should be used to further the discussion and should not be used to discuss unimportant aspects of the profiles of subjects. An important component of discussion is to compare and contrast the findings of the study with other similar studies starting from recent local studies and proceeding to national, regional and international levels, as indicated. References for comparisons should also be recent studies with similar objectives and/or study designs; preferably studies with large random samples and strong statistical analyses should be selected for discussion.
7. The Conclusion follows logically from the discussion. It should not be lengthy but composed of a few conclusive sentences that will convey a final summarized message to the reader regarding the utility of the study undertaken.
8. Recommendations may be written separately, as a subheading, if any follow logically from the findings of the study. They should be based on the present study and not given from other sources such as books or other articles.
9. Acknowledgements are also a separate heading where needed, written before references. Acknowledge only material, technical or financial support; routine secretarial work and/or proofreading the article are not to be acknowledged.
10. The References are a separate heading, listing all the literature cited in the study. Referencing should follow the Vancouver style as given in www.icmje.org. The number of references should be justified to no more than three references on a given aspect or issue cited in the text; the total number of references should be between 20 and 30 for an original article; a review article may contain from 30 -40 references. References should be within the last 05 years or at most 10 years from the date of submission of articles; exceptions can be made for important historical references, but these should not be more than 5% of the total references. 
11. The journal accepts Vancouver referencing style for publications in the journal.
12. The author must clearly state if any funding is involved.
13. The other must declare if there is any conflict of interest
14. Authors contribution table at the end

References

• Use Vancouver Style strictly
• Superscript numbers in-text (outside punctuation)
• 20–30 references for original articles
• Recent references preferred (≤5 years, maximum 10 years)
• Example format:

Mumtaz A, Ashraf Y, Raja A, Ullah A, Sethi H, Jan H. Transpedicular screw fixation and its surgical outcomes in the management of lumbar instability. J Coll Physicians Surg Pak 2018;28(7):532-535.