The gifted but hot-headed 18-year-old ran into trouble with Santos coach Dorival Junior over acts of indiscipline last week that Menezes was also unhappy about. Dorival lost his job over a suspension he imposed on the player.
"I think it's essential to make our line quite clear in how we think of conducting our work (with the national team)," Menezes said after naming his squad.
"We always say what a player brings to the national team is what he produces on the pitch," he told a news conference.
Menezes, appointed to the Brazil job until the World Cup they will host in 2014, said Neymar's return depended entirely on the player who scored on his international debut in a 2-0 away win over the United States last month.
"The very good football, brilliant, of recent months... if that becomes the norm again, the rule, it will get him back into the Brazilian team," he said.
Neymar enraged Dorival by questioning why he was not chosen to take a penalty after he was fouled in a match last week having sparked a free-for-all at the end of a previous match by arguing with an opponent.
NEW FACES
AC Milan forward Robinho, who played alongside Neymar at Santos in the first half of the Brazilian season, is one of five players who were in former coach Dunga's World Cup squad which reached the quarter-finals in South Africa.
Menezes gave several players their first call-up, including Werder Bremen midfielder Wesley and Giuliano of South American champions Internacional.
He said the younger players were also being considered for the under-23 team for the 2012 London Olympic Games. The Olympic crown is the only top prize missing from Brazil's array of titles that includes five World Cups.
The Brazilian Football Confederation has not yet announced who Brazil's rivals will be for two friendlies on FIFA international dates in October or where they will be played.
Brazil have a friendly against arch-rivals Argentina in Doha on November 17.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Victor (Gremio), Jefferson (Botafogo), Neto (Atletico Paranaense)
Defenders: Adriano, Daniel Alves (both Barcelona), Andre Santos (Fenerbahce), Mariano (Fluminense), Thiago Silva (AC Milan), Alex (Chelsea), David Luiz (Benfica), Rever (Atletico Mineiro)
Midfielders: Lucas (Liverpool), Sandro (Tottenham Hotspur), Ramires (Chelsea), Elias (Corinthians), Wesley (Werder Bremen), Carlos Eduardo (Rubin Kazan), Giuliano (Internacional), Philippe Coutinho (Inter Milan)
Forwards: Robinho, Alexandre Pato (both AC Milan), Nilmar (Villarreal), Andre (Dynamo Kiev)
