Neuroscientist Nikos Logothetis of the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Tübingen, Germany, has reportedly charged two of his former research students with pilfering data from his laboratory. The students then published scientifically incorrect interpretations of the data against his advice, it has been reported.
Logothetis further claimed that the journal Human Brain Mapping acted incorrectly by publishing the paper even after it was informed that the data were inappropriate. According to Logothetis, the journal has denied him the right to a timely reply. The journal has used the Max Planck Society (MPS) to excuse the mismanagement of the case, he claims.
Peter Fox, one of the two editors-in-chief of the journal, has said that the paper was correctly refereed, but refused to provide details.
After consultation with Logothetis, Max Planck Society (MPS) vice-president Herbert Jäckle had written to the authors giving approval for the use of the data. But he added that Logothetis' scientific concerns should be taken into account, in accordance with the MPS' code of good scientific practice. Small changes were made to the paper before it was published online on May 8, 2008, as planned. According to Jäckle, the journal misrepresented his approval of the use of the data as being permission to publish. He also noted that as neither of the two authors had been directly funded by the society, MPS should not have been listed in the paper as a funder of the project.
According to Logothetis, the paper does not give sufficient information to have allowed referees to understand the source of the data. He further adds that Human Brain Mapping has not guaranteed him the opportunity to publish a response with his own interpretation of the data. The journal has refused to retract the paper.
