Editorial

We have come to the first "changing of the guard" in terms of editorship for Physio­logical Psychology. Richard Thompson, the journal's first editor, has weathered the pains and pitfalls associated with the promotion of a new journal, and he is to be congratulated for his efforts in soliciting manuscripts from many behavioral disciplines. As Dick noted in his first editorial, the success of this journal will depend upon the quality of the papers submitted by the contributors. Such is still the case, and it is the sincere hope of the second editorial staff that the transition from Thompson to Morgan-Meyer will be a smooth one, and that you, the readers and potential contributors, will continue to consider Physiological Psychology as a vehicle for reporting your experimental studies and reviews.

The Founding Father of the journal Physiological Psychology was Clifford Morgan. Cliff presented his definition of our science nearly 40 years ago in the first edition of his book Physiological Psychology. "It is the study of the relation between the organism's physiological processes and its behavior; or, since behavior is the outcome of physiological events, we may say that physiological psychology is the study of the physiological mecha­nisms oj behavior." Today, times have changed, and rightly so. Our field of study has become very broad, and accordingly, our intent is to solicit behavioral manuscripts from many areas of research-psychology, biology, pharmacology, anatomy, electrophysiology, clinical neurophysiology, neuroendocrinology, physiology, autonomic functions, and their many subareas. Our only stipulation is that the data relate directly to behavior and expe­rience. Thus, we welcome experimental, review, and theoretical papers.

One change in the format of the journal is the introduction of a Short Communication section. This journal space is reserved for papers of exceptional quality, and the manuscripts are limited to 1,500 words. The purpose of the SC section is to promote rapid publication of timely results.

The first nine articles of the March 1982 issue are experimental, review, and theoretical contributions from several members of the new editorial staff. The next five articles were studies accepted while Dick was editor, and the final four papers were accepted under my editorship.

Finally, I wish to dedicate the March 1982 edition of Physiological Psychology to Cliff Morgan and Dick Thompson. They both have made a significant dent into the history of our business.

Patricia Morgan Meyer

Copyright 1982 Psychonomic Society, Inc. 1