Scope

The Environmental, Aviation and Space Physiology specialty section explores how the organism responds in both structure and function to challenges imposed by its prevalent, even harsh, surroundings and novel changes that deviate from its normal environment. Adaptation enables living organisms to confront external perturbations to adequately compensate and survive, but abrupt, or even extreme, changes can be maladaptive and lethal. As this section presents new and critical findings, it examines the nature of life itself, its evolutionary history, and its interrelationships to other organisms and its environment in a vastly changing world.

Of utmost importance to the survival and wellness of a species will be its response to its changing environment brought about by climate.  The adaptability of a species is no longer guaranteed by its isolation in the jungle, in the desert, at high altitudes, or in a coastal reef system.  This is particularly the case with human life.  As a section we invite studies that explore in depth the specific impact of climate change on organismal physiology and new methodologies in monitoring and insights into solutions.

Another topic of interest is how the physiological mechanisms, from neural to metabolism, of organisms respond to changes in the intensity and direction of gravity. Of all the environmental parameters under which a species has been exposed in the course of its evolution only gravity has remained constant. Predation, vegetation, and terrestrial or aquatic habitation, for example, have changed, but the intensity and direction of gravity have not. An organism’s ability to detect gravity and to live under a gravitational load are critical for its survival. 

Over 50 years before the advent of the space age, scientists in academic and military laboratories throughout the world were identifying the physiological and psycho-physiological mechanisms critical for piloting aircraft. The arrival of aviation offered a new, more complex test environment where man and machine interact in a rapidly changing environment. This environment often proved dangerous as pilots had to learn to control the aircraft under all circumstances and the advances in manufacturing and technology had to recognize the physiology of the pilot and the crew. Today we are even planning to fly to Mars in the up-coming decades and to build self-controlled ecological habitats on its surface. Not only will the human crews be confined to extremely isolated and hostile environments, but so too will the living organisms transported with them. We have just started to gain insights, through analog studies and extended stays on orbiting space stations, how such a scenario will influence the crew’s performance and well-being.  The success and survivability of these endeavors will depend on our understanding of how life responds to the initial and long-term changes and adaptations within and across generations.

The specialty section will be problem oriented and not species specific. We encourage original articles that investigate the physiological and psycho-physiological interaction(s) of the organism, from cells to human, with its environment on land, in water, or in and beyond our atmosphere from both a fundamental or theoretical perspective as well as an applied formula.  The section should serve as a scientific platform to rigorously analyze and discuss these issues from different perspectives with an integrated approach.

Please consider the content and article type specifications as stated below 

Articles that address purely pathological processes or treatment/management of disease do not fall within the areas covered by Frontiers in Physiology. Articles of this type must be submitted to a more appropriate clinical journal. As an example, all cancer related articles should be submitted to an appropriate section of Frontiers in Oncology. Articles that focus exclusively on disease processes will be returned to authors without review, and/or with a suggestion to submit to a more appropriate Frontiers journal. Similarly, all articles with a research focus on genes and genomes should be submitted to an appropriate section of Frontiers in Genetics; these submissions will not be considered for review in Frontiers in Physiology.

Please note that not all Article Types are available in all Sections. Some article types, such as those that mention medicine, are section specific. Authors are encouraged to refer to the section specific 'About' pages for available article types. Special circumstances related to sections cross-listed between two or more journals also apply, read more below. Only article types that appear in the drop-down menu during the submission process are available for submission to the selected section.

Frontiers in Physiology no longer accepts Clinical Trials and Case Reports, including pilot studies.

The WHO defines a clinical trial as "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". 

In most cases, these submissions should be directed to one of the Frontiers medically related journals. Articles of this nature submitted to Frontiers in Physiology will be returned to authors without review, and/or with a suggestion to submit to a more appropriate Frontiers journal.

Due to the nature of our publishing program, sections cross-listed between two or more journals (for e.g. Autonomic Neuroscience, Biophysics, Exercise Physiology, Medical Physics and Imaging, Reproduction) may continue to welcome these article types, and others, by submission through the other relevant field journal. However, authors should not proceed with submission of a clinical trial, case report or pilot study through Frontiers in Physiology. As stated, articles of this nature submitted to Frontiers in Physiology will be returned to authors without review, and/or with a suggestion to submit to a more appropriate Frontiers journal.

In the case of General Commentaries, the journal will only consider those which comment on a paper already published with Frontiers. Special exception may be given if a commentary addresses a body of knowledge, pending approval from section Chief Editors. 

Submission

Copyright Statement