The use of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) tools in articles published in the journal must be conducted within an ethical, transparent, and responsible framework. This policy defines the boundaries for the use of AI-assisted tools for authors, editors, and reviewers.

The journal follows the guidelines established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and ICMJE regarding the use of GAI-supported technologies in the manuscript preparation process. GAI tools cannot be accepted or listed as authors in academic or scientific studies. GAI has no authorship or evaluative authority; scientific publications must be based on the researcher’s original ideas and findings. GAI may be used for language editing during manuscript preparation (and this must be clearly stated in the article).

The journal is committed to supporting copyright and publication ethics regulations. Due to ongoing legal uncertainties or potential copyright violations related to AI-generated visual content, the use of such materials is generally not permitted in our publications, except in the following cases:

For visuals directly referenced in research on artificial intelligence, a statement must be included in the note section indicating that the image was generated using generative AI and specifying which GAI was used. Example: Note. The image was generated using artificial intelligence (DALL·E, OpenAI, 2026). This statement must also be described in detail in the article before the references.

Responsible and human-controlled use of generative GAI is essential. To ensure that the use of generative GAI systems is explainable and auditable, authors must verify the accuracy and appropriateness of AI-generated visuals and clearly describe the GAI methodology used in the manuscript. All content generated using generative GAI must comply with scientific standards and ethical rules.

Authors may use generative AI tools for language editing, proofreading, or technical improvement. However, the scientific content, analyses, and conclusions of the study remain entirely the responsibility of the authors. Original idea generation and hypothesis development are the responsibility of the author. Interpretation of findings, discussion, and conclusions must not be delegated to generative AI. Methods used in data analysis generated by GAI may raise ethical concerns. GAI systems cannot be listed as authors. If GAI is used, this must be clearly disclosed in the manuscript. The authors bear final responsibility for the accuracy and ethical compliance of AI-generated content. Confidential patient data, ethics committee–required data, or copyrighted materials must not be uploaded to GAI systems. GAI tools cannot create the scientific content of the study.

Editors may use GAI-supported systems for limited purposes such as language quality checks or similarity analysis during preliminary evaluation. However, editorial decisions are made solely by editors. Confidential patient data, ethics committee–required data, or copyrighted materials must not be uploaded to GAI systems.

Reviewers may not upload manuscript content under review to any GAI system, as this would violate data confidentiality. Reviewers may use AI tools only for language editing of the text they themselves have written. Reviewers are responsible for the scientific content of their reports.

Failure to provide proper disclosure, incomplete disclosure, or prohibited use constitutes a violation. In such cases, one or more of the following sanctions may be applied: manuscript rejection, post-publication retraction, editorial sanctions imposed by the journal, and institutional notification procedures.