Journal profile · Neurosciences
Brain and Language
ISSN 0093-934X · eISSN 1090-2155 · Academic Press Inc. · UNITED STATES · Monthly · Founded 1974
Brain and Language: CAS Zone 3 · Psychology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.43; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,170; median 253 days to acceptance (102 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: about 72.5%; 100 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE, SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Brain and Language is published by Academic Press Inc. and is in Zone 3 of Psychology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism, Reading and Literacy Development and Language Development and Disorders, together about 44.2% of its articles. Its main subfields are Cognitive Neuroscience. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
An interdisciplinary journal, Brain and Language publishes articles that elucidate the complex relationships among language, brain, and behavior. The journal covers the large variety of modern techniques in cognitive neuroscience, including functional and structural brain imaging, electrophysiology, cellular and molecular neurobiology, genetics, lesion-based approaches, and computational modeling. All articles must relate to human language and be relevant to the understanding of its neurobiological and neurocognitive bases. Published articles in the journal are expected to have significant theoretical novelty and/or practical implications, and use perspectives and methods from psychology, linguistics, and neuroscience along with brain data and brain measures.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Neurosciences
Editor-in-chief Ping LiPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 5 in mainland China (about 11%); most named United States 22, Mainland China 5, United Kingdom 5, Hong Kong, China 2, Taiwan, China 2 (45 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Neurobiology of Language and BilingualismNeuroscience24.6%
- Reading and Literacy DevelopmentPsychology12.8%
- Language Development and DisordersPsychology6.9%
- Diverse Scientific and Economic StudiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance5.8%
- Human auditory perception and evaluationEngineering5.1%
- Educational Robotics and EngineeringComputer Science4%
- Phonetics and Phonology ResearchPsychology3.9%
- Hemispheric Asymmetry in NeuroscienceNeuroscience3.5%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Psychology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Psychology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Audiology & Speech-language Pathology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Linguistics | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Neurosciences | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Psychology, Experimental | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Psychology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Psychology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Audiology & Speech-language Pathology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Linguistics | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Neurosciences | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Psychology, Experimental | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Psychology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Psychology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Audiology & Speech-language Pathology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Linguistics | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Neurosciences | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Psychology, Experimental | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIESSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 2.43LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 2.4Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 4Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.84LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.07LetPub ·
- h-index
- 110LetPub ·
- h-index
- 215OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 3,630OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.04OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 4.2%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 44.16%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 85LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 6,097 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 84 | 52 | 16 |
| 2025 | 100 | 62 | 161 |
| 2024 | 78 | 54 | 358 |
| 2023 | 74 | 41 | 524 |
| 2022 | 80 | 47 | 811 |
| 2021 | 91 | 48 | 1,328 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with PubMed · to
253 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 191 days – 345 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 9 days (102 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 267 days
- Sample
- 102 articles with submission and acceptance dates (181 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 3 monthsLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- 72.5%LetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 3 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 80 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 222 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 10 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 3,170 / EUR 2,970 / GBP 2,540 / JPY 393,180 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 2,990 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Open calls for papers2, by deadline
Publisher websiteWhat to prepare3 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 10,000 words
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted10, with length limits
- commentaryarticles for a response. This Keynote - Commentary - Response format will be limited to 12,000 - 2,000 - 5,000 words in length, respectively (not including refe…main text ≤ 5,000 words
- keynote articlesKeynote articles Keynote articles are invited by the editors.Length not stated
- opinionThese are short articles that provide a new or integrative theoretical perspective or a novel methodology to the field. Such articles state the authors' opinion…main text ≤ 5,000 words
- opinion articlesOpinion articles These are short articles that provide a new or integrative theoretical perspective or a novel methodology to the field.Length not stated
- regular articleThese are regular articles typically reporting significant experimental findings. Typical articles occupy between 6 and 12 pages in the journal, or fewer than 1…main text ≤ 10,000 words · figures and tables ≤ 6
- regular articlesRegular articles These are regular articles typically reporting significant experimental findings.Length not stated
- review articleThese are longer articles that critically review a topic of importance to the readership of Brain and Language. Such articles are typically up to 15 pages, and …Length not stated
- review articlesReview articles These are longer articles that critically review a topic of importance to the readership of Brain and Language.Length not stated
- short communicationThese are succinct articles typically reporting a single important experimental finding. Such articles usually contain fewer than 6 published pages, or fewer th…main text ≤ 5,000 words · figures and tables ≤ 3
- short communicationsShort communications These are succinct articles typically reporting a single important experimental finding.Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints
- AI use Declaration of generative AI use
Authors must declare the use of generative AI tools in the manuscript preparation process upon submission of the paper.Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies (“AI tools”) have been rapidly adopted in research and scholarly publishing, offering significant benefits while requiring clear standards for responsible and transparent use.Authors preparing a manuscript for this journal may use AI tool…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Group authorship
Group authorship refers to the attribution of an article to a defined and named group of authors whose members have contributed to the work. Examples include research consortia, clinical trial groups, collaborative networks, task forces or working groups, expert panels or consensus groups, and participatory research groups. Group authorship must be declared on the title page at submission. When av…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Declaration of competing interests
All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence or bias their work. Examples of potential competing interests include:EmploymentConsultanciesStock ownershipHonorariaPaid expert testimonyPatent applications or registrationsGrants or any other fundingAffiliation with the journal as an Editor or Advisory Board …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright License options
Authors will be offered open access user license options which will determine how you, and third parties, can reuse your open access article. We advise that you review these options and any funding body license requirements before selecting a license option.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
We refer you to our open access information page to learn about open access options for this journal.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
Single anonymized review process Model summary
This journal follows a single anonymized review process. Your submission will initially be assessed by our editors. If your submission is deemed suitable, it will typically be sent to be reviewed by a minimum of two reviewers for an independent expert assessment of the scientific quality. The decision as to whether your article is accepted or rejected for publication will be made by our editors.Re…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
Preprint sharing allowed Model summary
Preprint sharingAuthors may share preprints in line with Elsevier's article sharing policy. Sharing preprints, such as on a preprint server, will not count as prior publication.We advise you to read our policy on multiple, redundant or concurrent publication. In support of Open Science, this journal offers its authors a free preprint posting service on SSRN, Elsevier’s preprint and early research …
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Academic Press Inc.
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Monthly
- Founded
- 1974
- ISSN
- 0093-934X
- Electronic ISSN
- 1090-2155
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Brain and Language
What CAS zone is Brain and Language in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Brain and Language is in Zone 3 of Psychology, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Audiology & Speech-language Pathology / Linguistics / Neurosciences / Psychology, Experimental. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Psychology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Brain and Language?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.43; CiteScore 4, h-index 215.
How long does peer review take at Brain and Language?
Based on the dates recorded on 102 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 253 days (interquartile range 191–345 days); authors report an average review time of about 3 months; the community-reported acceptance is “about 72.5%”. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of Brain and Language?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Manuscript length: ≤ 10,000 words; Cover letter: Required. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Brain and Language based?
Of the 45 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 5 (about 11%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (22), Mainland China (5) and United Kingdom (5). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Brain and Language?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Brain and Language is indexed in SCIE, SSCI and Scopus.
Is Brain and Language open access, and what is the APC?
Brain and Language is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,170.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .