Neurological Journals and the ANA

Early American Neurological Journals

         Founded in 1867 by William A. Hammond, the first American neurological journal was called the Quarterly Journal of Psychological Medicine and Medical Jurisprudence. Under Hammond's continued editorship, the journal changed its name to The Journal of Psychological Medicine: A Quarterly Review of Diseases of the Nervous System, Medical Jurisprudence, and Anthropology (1870) and then to The Psychological and Medico-Legal Journal: A Monthly Review of Diseases of the Mind and Nervous System and of Medical Jurisprudence (1874). Despite their awkward and cumbersome names, these periodicals reflected the place of neurology in a context with other disciplines including law, anthropology, and psychiatry.

Quarterly Journal of Psychological Medicine and Medical Jurisprudence The first American neurological journal was the Quarterly Journal of Psychological Medicine and Medical Jurisprudence. It was founded in 1867 by WA Hammond and was inaugurated at the beginning of his tenure as Professor of Diseases of the Mind and Nervous System at Bellevue Hospital Medical College. This journal served as a vehicle for the transmission of Hammond's medical and legal pursuits, but also specifically advanced his interest in the newly evolving specialty of neurology, that merged the study of the mind and nervous system.

         After the mid-1870s, four other influential nineteenth century American neurology journals were published. Each of these periodicals incorporated elements found in Hammond's journals yet made important independent contributions. The first of these periodicals, the Journal of Nervous and Mental Diseases, is the only neurological journal of the nineteenth century that exists today. Initiated in 1874 as the Chicago Journal of Nervous and Mental Diseases, it retained this name for only its first two years. This journal also assumed the role as the primary vehicle for the transmission of local neurological society proceedings, such as those located in Philadelphia and New York, and the American Neurological Association.

Chicago Journal of Nervous and Mental Diseases The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease is the only neurological journal of the nineteenth century that exists today. Initiated in 1874 as the Chicago Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, it retained this name for only its first two years. This journal assumed the role as the primary vehicle for the transmission of local neurological society proceedings, such as those located in Philadelphia and New York and eventually became the official publication of the first national neurological society in the United States, the American Neurological Association.

         With increasing numbers of physicians in the U.S. identifying themselves as neurologists during the mid to late 1800s, a growing desire for a pragmatic and therapeutically useful journal, instead of one with a primary theoretical focus, led to the establishment in 1880 of the Alienist and Neurologist which existed for 40 years. The Archives of Electrology and Neurology (1873) was the first official journal of a local American neurological organization, and the name further represents the first use of the word "neurology" in a title of an American periodical. Relying heavily on articles discussing new instrumentation and electrical devices, this journal emphasized skills unique to the neurologist and fostered the concept of the neurologist as a specialist. Finally, the American Journal of Neurology and Psychiatry was established in 1882 by EC Spitzka and presented neurology in the context of general medicine. In this same effort, early neurologists in the USA, especially EC Sequin, participated directly in founding such journals as The Scientific Practice of Medicine and Surgery (1873) and Archives of Medicine (1879).

Alienist and Neurologist The Alienist and Neurologist was founded in 1880 by CH Hughes and existed for 40 years. In addition to its practical quality, its longevity may also be partially attributable to its aggressive pursuit of readers. It was obviously successful because by its second year, this journal was subscribed to by one hundred hospitals and libraries on this and the European Continent and nearly 2,000 physicians.

Journals of the American Neurological Association

         The original journal of the ANA where its annual meeting proceedings were regularly published was the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease. Although officially an independent journal, its editorial views strongly reflected those of the early ANA and, as such, strongly opposed many views of the American Association of Asylum Superintendents, forerunner of the American Psychiatric Association. The first years of the journal balanced neurology and psychiatry, but there was a strong favoritism for works related to neuroanatomy and neurophysiology. As early as 1897, however, the ANA minutes of the Executive Council reflected a concern to establish a journal specifically sponsored by the ANA. A will to expand the size and content of the journal and most importantly to have direct editorial control prompted an official recommendation to establish a new journal, to be called the Archives of Neurology. The plan was not realized immediately, and in 1918, the question was again addressed when the American Medical Association offered to establish the Archives of Neurology and Psychiatry with the editorial board selected by the ANA. These discussions were largely prompted in response to the Journal of Nervous and Metal Disease's editor, SM Jelliffe, who had strongly turned the journal's focus towards psychoanalytic priorities. The Archives of Neurology and Psychiarty was revamped in 1959 to become the Archives of Neurology. In this format, the ANA remained aligned to the AMA, and the primary articles were largely derived from the major presentations at the annual ANA meeting and the membership theses.

Early Votes for Editorial Autonomy As early as 1897, the ANA sought to establish its own journal. Taken from the report of B. Sachs in the 1897 Minutes of the ANA, it was recommended by committee to establish a new journal for the ANA. The cost of establishing this journal was estimated at $3,000 for a volume of 650-700 pages. This money was to be raised from yearly contributions of the ANA, the New York Neurological Society and the Philadelphia Neurological Society or by private subscriptions. The new journal was to be called the Archives of Neurology. Although the intention to establish this journal began in 1897, this event was not realized until 1977 with the founding of the Annals of Neurology.

         During the 1960's, the growing power of the AMA and its management style prompted increasing concerns for autonomy. S. Trufant and F. Plum led this movement that reached its climax in 1976 when Trufant, then president of the ANA officially recommended to the Executive Council that the ANA cease to recognize the Archives as its official journal, endorse the collective resignation of the editorial board and chief editor, and establish a new journal. The Annals of Neurology was founded in 1977 with F. Plum as Editor. From its inception, the Annals has been a major scientific and financial success for the association. Temporally favored by the exploding advances in neuroscience research in the 1980's and 1990's, this journal enjoys the highest reputation among international journals combining basic science and clinical material in high quality format.

	The ANA's Journals Throughout its 125 years, the ANA has been affiliated with three major journals, the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, the Archives of Neurology (originally Archives of Neurology and Psychiatry), as a specialty journal within the American Medical Association publications, and the Annals of Neurology.

Transactions of the American Neurological Association

         From its inception, the ANA had a publication committee that directed the effort to publish the transactions of the annual meeting as a free-standing publication. The Transactions was conceived with two purposes, the documentation of the actual proceedings of the meeting and the publication of the papers in full format. During the meeting, minutes recorded the business elements of the Congress as well as each scientific presentation. Giving only a brief overview of the neurological topic and data discussed, the main emphasis was placed on recording the discussion that followed. Comments ranged from enthusiastic support to polite deference to open antagonism, often with Hammond leading the aggressive criticism. This portion of the Transactions was later published in large circulation journals, primarily the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, giving non-members a ready glimpse of the internal events of the prestigious organization. Taken directly from the hand-written minutes, these documents served also as an archival source for the ANA. In negotiating with the JNMD, the ANA officers were emphatic that these be published intact and that journal editor would have no power to edit these transactions further. After the annual meeting, the publication committee gathered full manuscripts for review and publication in the second part of the Transaction volume. These original articles followed a publication format of a more traditional journal and received peer-review by the publication committee prior to acceptance. An early controversy concerned whether the author or the ANA should bear the cost of photographic reproduction, but the Executive Council voted that this was an organizational expense. The Transactions began in 1875, skipped 1876, and then continued annually until 1981. In his interview for the ANA oral history archives, W Landau commented on the Transactions and the traditional method of a presentation that was followed by one or two invited discussants already aware of the main data: