Scope

Striated Muscle Physiology provides a forum for the dissemination of the newest knowledge of skeletal and cardiac striated muscle function to the broadest possible readership. Contributions reporting all aspects of normal striated muscle function and pathophysiology are welcome. For studies focusing on skeletal muscle function, areas include, but are not limited to, neuromuscular transmission, membrane excitability and excitation-contraction coupling, single molecule (e.g., myosin, titin, myosin binding protein-C) dynamics, single cell properties, comparative and integrative muscle biology, adaptations to changes in workload or environmental stimuli, skeletal muscle mechanics as a component of integrated motor functions (e.g., swimming, flight, terrestrial locomotion), specialized muscle systems, and consequences of induced or pathology-related changes in gene expression. For studies focusing on cardiac muscle function, topics included, but are not limited to, EC-coupling, ion channels, regulation of length and frequency-dependency, myofilament function, metabolism, signaling, as well as cardiac pathological conditions. Reports of striated muscle studies that advance the understanding of the fundamental mechanisms that drive cross-bridges during muscle force generation, shortening and relaxation are welcome. Authors are encouraged to discuss their results in an integrated manner to facilitate the understanding of new findings among all striated muscle biologists, regardless of their particular areas of expertise. Skeletal muscle in invertebrate and vertebrates is an unusually heterogeneous tissue with respect to protein isoform expression patterns, and has a remarkable ability to adapt to different conditions. In addition, reports that investigate cross-talk between cardiac and skeletal muscle function are welcome, as well as dysfunction of this cross-talk in disease. The Specialty welcomes contributions that provide insights gained from the study of novel, as well as more traditional, muscle systems, as an enticing multitude of frontiers remains to be explored.

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

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