A news item or story that is breaking (or breaking late) and must be reported immediately, such as a hurricane landfall or the assassination of a public figure. This type of information is typically accompanied by a “cut-in” to interrupt the program. In some cases, a special ticker or lower third graphics is used to communicate the urgency of the news item.
Unlike other abstracts, those submitted as late-breaking are held to a higher standard for quality and impact. These abstracts should report novel, exciting research and be of interest to the scientific community. They may not contain data that has been presented or accepted for publication at any national meeting at the time of submission. In addition, the subject matter should not be primarily clinical or laboratory-based (e.g., case reports, qualitative surveys, practice reviews, rating scale validation, small confirmatory studies).
SfN reserves the right to reject any abstract that does not meet these requirements. Accepted late-breaking abstracts will be featured as e-posters and will be located in a dedicated poster area of the conference. The presenting author of a late-breaking abstract must be registered for the event and present in person or via virtual-only presentation.
SfN members may only serve as presenting author on one late-breaking abstract. If a member is listed as the presenting author on two late-breaking abstracts, one must be withdrawn. All co-authors listed on the abstract author block must be SfN members and must be registered for the meeting. They must also sign the consent form to have their names included in all informational and promotional materials for the event, including the itinerary planner.
