John Coote
Chairman of the Editorial Board of Experimental Physiology, Department of Physiology, The Medical School, University of Birmingham

https://doi.org/10.36866/pn.46.21

Just 2 years ago I took over as Chairman of the editorial board of Experimental Physiology. To be given this task at the start of a new millennium is somehow aesthetically satisfying as well as being challenging. After the initial inevitable steep learning curve I thought a brief account of the Journal and its mission was called for, particularly since I often get asked by members of The Society “what is Experimental Physiology?”

Experimental Physiology covers a broad scope of biological systems with a major emphasis on integrative physiology. By this is meant the functioning of cells, organs and systems that cannot simply be understood by knowing more and more about their individual parts. The integrative focus of Experimental Physiology places it at the cutting edge of contemporary physiological research and our aim is to make it the leading publication outlet in this area.

The integrative focus of Experimental Physiology

In this post-genomic age integrative physiology is necessary for understanding the new biology. It is essential if we are to reveal the function of genes. How else can one phenotype transgenic/mutant animals, determine gene related alterations in body control systems using techniques like vector mediated gene transfer? Integrative studies with complex biological systems are also needed for realising the benefits that genomics and proteomics will bring to developing new medicines as recently highlighted in a report by a Working Party of the British Pharmacological Society (2002 TIPS 23(1) 13-18). Furthermore more conventional ‘systems’ techniques will continue to be needed for understanding the physiology of body control systems which is still inadequate.

What does Experimental Physiology publish?

Experimental Physiology publishes original research covering the functional consequences of interaction of animal proteins, cells, tissues and organs. Our interpretation of this definition can perhaps best be appreciated by referring to previous papers, eg the paper on the role of nitric oxide in the vascular bed of skeletal muscle during exercise in rats by Musch et al 2001 Exp Physiol 86(6) 749-758; or that on the programming of adult disease by an adverse intrauterine environment for fetal development by Hawkins et al 2000 Exp Physiol 85(1) 85-96; or in complete contrast the effect of vagus nerve stimulation on pacemaker shift in the rabbit sinoatrial node by Shibata et al 2001 Exp Physiol 86(2) 177-184. Experimental Physiology also is keen to publish pertinent methodological papers like that on tracing multisynaptic pathways by Pyner et al 2001 Exp Physiol 86(6) 695-702 or that on somatic gene transfer in studies of cardiovascular control by Kasparov & Paton 2000 Exp Physiol 85(6)747-756.

An important feature of Experimental Physiology is the publication of articles dealing with the most up to date development in various fields of physiology. These are found in the selected reviews and symposia by special interest groups, for example, Oxytocin and Vasopressin from molecules to function Exp Physiol 85S March 2000; Gene manipulation and integrative physiology Exp Physiol 85(6) November 2000; Uterine contractility Exp Physiol 86(2) March 2001, and Vagal control: from Axolotl to Man Exp Physiol 86(6) November 2001. It also publishes 6 of The Physiological Society’s review lectures like that of Janice Marshall in 1999, The integrated response to hypoxia: from circulation to cells Exp Physiol 84(3) 449-470 or that by Julian Paton in 1999 on Nucleus Tractus Solitarii: integrating structures Exp Physiol 84(5) 815-834 and that by David Paterson in 2001 on Nitric oxide and the autonomic regulation of cardiac excitability Exp Physiol 86(1) 1-12. Both of the latter are now on our board of editors.

Experimental Physiology: A brief history

It is now 94 years since the first volume of Experimental Physiology’s predecessor appeared in January 1908. It originally was given the rather cumbersome title of Quarterly Journal of Experimental Physiology. The reasons for this and the history of the Journal’s origins are well worth reading and is well summarised in a review by David Whitteridge FRS, published on its 75th anniversary in Q.J.Exp. Physiol 1983 68, 521-523. It seems the Journal arose from the concerns that Physiology was treated with disparity by the editors of the Glasgow based Journal of Anatomy and Physiology. It subsequently arose that members of The Physiological Society were also unhappy with the autocratic and arbitrary way Langley as Editor in Chief dealt with papers submitted to The Journal of Physiology. A process sometimes referred to as being Langleyized! Sir Edward Sharpey-Schafer, then Professor of Physiology in Edinburgh was urged to establish a new Journal of Physiology and so the Quarterly Journal appeared under his editorship in 1908. It should be said this was with support from the majority of members of The Physiological Society. Despite this Langley thought that there was no place for competing Journals, a sentiment which has been echoed over the years since. Little did anyone envisage today’s scenario of strong demand for publishing space and the explosion of Journals. It is worth commenting here that my feeling and that of the present editorial board is that there is an element of truth in the idea that The Physiological Society should not be publishing two Journals with similar scope. That is why I want to emphasise that Experimental Physiology has quite different terms of reference to The Journal of Physiology.

Returning to our brief history, the Quarterly Journal of Experimental Physiology like many Journals of the time, lacked strong financial support, because it depended on the resources of individuals. So following a number of crises the Journal was taken over by the Physiological Society in 1979 and renamed Experimental Physiology.

Thanks to the efforts of its chief editors, Cecil Kidd and more recently Jim Gillespie Experimental Physiology is now internationally recognised and is financially sound.

Nonetheless can we justify two Journals of Physiology? It was argued by David Whitteridge (1983), I quote “that by providing a second channel of publication in this country, the Journal has continued to obviate some of the consequences of Editorial eccentricity in The Journal of Physiology.” This is still true although not our main function.

The Present Situation

The Journal has an international editorial board of distinguished scientists each dealing with a specialist area of physiology. We now ask that manuscripts be submitted to the area editor (electronically is quicker) via Emma Ward, our editorial and distribution assistant, in Cambridge. The whole editorial process is now speedier so that a paper from submission to publication can take only 4 months. Even quicker are rapid communications, which by the way, are not preliminary reports but key and highly topical new findings usually in rapidly moving fields. These can be published on the web as soon as they are accepted. Furthermore the Journal is now online so that providing your library has paid its dues you can down load any manuscript.

Experimental Physiology like The Journal of Physiology is a Journal of The Physiological Society, and members should support it. I have tried to make clear what Experimental Physiology is trying to achieve. Since organisms can be best understood in terms of how their component cell systems interact, we decided to have a strong integrative agenda to supplement the more reductionist approach of The Journal of Physiology. Our policy is to provide the outlet for studies dealing with the complexity of intercellular events. Inevitably there will be overlap just as there is with publications of the American Physiological Society.

At the moment we can see the mountain, but the route to the summit is a little unclear although we have made a start. The new physiology, genomic and proteomic, will demand the functional approaches of integrative physiology and we forsee Experimental Physiology becoming an important conduit for papers in this area as well as in the traditional areas of biology.

The goal of the editorial board is to increase the impact factor and circulation. But remember the rating of a Journal to a large extent depends on its readers and subscribers so by submitting your manuscript to Experimental Physiology it is you that will determine its future.