Journal profile · NEUROSCIENCES
Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience
ISSN 1662-5102 · Frontiers Media S.A. · SWITZERLAND · Founded 2007
Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience: CAS Zone 3 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 4.41; fully open access; APC charged, amount not published; median 61 days to acceptance (100 articles, last 24 months); 274 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience is published by Frontiers Media S.A. and is in Zone 3 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research, Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms and Neurogenesis and neuroplasticity mechanisms, together about 38.8% of its articles. Its main subfields are Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience is a multidisciplinary journal publishing research that advances our understanding of the cellular mechanisms underlying the function of neural and glial cells in the nervous system across all species. Led by Field Chief Editors Prof Egidio D‘angelo (University of Pavia, Italy) and Prof Christian Hansel (University of Chicago, USA), and indexed in PubMed Central (PMC), Scopus, and Web of Science (SCIE), the journal welcomes submissions of multidisciplinary studies of cellular function in vertebrates and invertebrates, in cell culture, in vivo, or using slices, and involving genetically amenable species, such as Drosophila, C. elegans, mice, and zebrafish, as well as any other species suited to elucidate fundamental principles of cellular function in neural and glial cells. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to: cellular neuropathology cellular neurophysiology non-neuronal cells. Studies on basic neural functions, such as the generation of action potentials, synaptic transmission, biophysical and biochemical aspects of receptor activation, ionic channel functions, synaptic plasticity, intra- and inter-cell signaling related to the emergent functions of cells, glial-neuronal signaling, and synaptic and dendritic integration, are welcome. Likewise of interest is research on the morphology of cells and how this relates to the emergent functions of neurons and glial cells, on developing adult and aging cells, and on cellular changes in diseases. The journal welcomes research that aims to bridge molecular and cellular physiology and integrative neuroscience, so as to understand the impact of cellular and molecular properties of neurons and glial cells on circuit functions and behavior. Furthermore, the journal is particularly interested in research that pays special attention to novel technical approaches able to shed light on yet unresolved neuroscientific issues. While the journal’s primary focus is on experimental studies, the journal welcomes the addition of computational models to further explore experimental findings. Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience also encourages submissions which support and advance the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), notably SDG 3: good health and well-being. Manuscripts that focus on clinical studies, patient-based research, or epidemiological studies are not suitable for publication in this journal. Additionally, studies that primarily focus on the molecular mechanisms of
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): NEUROSCIENCES
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 5, Germany 3, Italy 2, United Kingdom 1, Spain 1 (16 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology ResearchNeuroscience17.2%
- Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration MechanismsNeuroscience12.4%
- Neurogenesis and neuroplasticity mechanismsNeuroscience9.1%
- Neural dynamics and brain functionNeuroscience6.1%
- Neuroscience and Neural EngineeringNeuroscience4.7%
- Photoreceptor and optogenetics researchNeuroscience4.4%
- Nerve injury and regenerationNeuroscience4.2%
- Alzheimer's disease research and treatmentsMedicine3.6%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Neurosciences | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Neurosciences | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Neurosciences | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Web of SciencePMCEmbasePublisher website
Other: EBSCO, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, CLOCKSS, Crossref
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
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
- 4.41LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 4.4Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 8.9LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 8.9Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.43LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.03LetPub ·
- h-index
- 64LetPub ·
- h-index
- 179OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 4,567OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 5.4OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 99.9%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 246LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 7,034 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 271 | 271 | 129 |
| 2025 | 274 | 274 | 1,328 |
| 2024 | 394 | 394 | 3,617 |
| 2023 | 535 | 535 | 6,614 |
| 2022 | 709 | 709 | 14,290 |
| 2021 | 567 | 567 | 17,562 |
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
61 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 41 days – 86 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 20 days (100 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 83 days
- Sample
- 100 articles with submission and acceptance dates (622 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)
- 6–12 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 14 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
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
Fully open accessDOAJ
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | CHF 3,150 | Yes | CC BY | |
| OpenAlex | CHF 3,150 | — | — | |
| LetPub | USD 3,295 | Yes | — |
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)
What to prepare3 items from the author guidelines
- Keywords
- 5–8
- Reference style
- Harvard
- Templates
- LaTeX and Word
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Conflicts of interest, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review
- AI use Use of AI to create written or visual content
Authors should not list a generative AI technology as a co-author or author of any submitted manuscript. Generative AI technologies cannot be held accountable for all aspects of a manuscript and consequently do not meet the criteria required for authorship. If the author of a submitted manuscript has used written or visual content produced by or edited using a generative AI technology, this use mu…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Safeguards against financial conflicts of interest
Only leading researchers acting as Associate Editors, who are not part of Frontiers' staff, can make acceptance decisions based on reviews performed by external experts acting as Community Reviewers or Reviewers. None have a financial incentive to accept articles, i.e. they are not paid for their role as Associate Editor or community Reviewer, and any award scheme is not linked to acceptances of m…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Open access and copyright
Figures, tables, and images published under CC-BY; permission required for copyrighted material from other sources. Model summary
All Frontiers' articles from July 2012 onwards are published with open access under the Creative Commons CC-BY license (the current version is CC-BY, version 4.0). This means that the author(s) retains copyright, but the content is free to download, distribute, and adapt for commercial or non-commercial purposes, given appropriate attribution to the original article. Upon submission, the author(s)…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access and copyright
Open access under CC-BY version 4.0 for articles from July 2012 onwards. Model summary
All Frontiers' articles from July 2012 onwards are published with open access under the Creative Commons CC-BY license (the current version is CC-BY, version 4.0). This means that the author(s) retains copyright, but the content is free to download, distribute, and adapt for commercial or non-commercial purposes, given appropriate attribution to the original article. Upon submission, the author(s)…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
Manuscripts must meet international English language standards. Model summary
Our rigorous, transparent peer review process combines expert review and constructive dialogue to strengthen your manuscript.
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
- Frontiers Media S.A.
- Country or region
- SWITZERLAND
- Language
- English
- Founded
- 2007
- ISSN
- 1662-5102
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience
What CAS zone is Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience is in Zone 3 of Medicine, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Neurosciences. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 4.41; CiteScore 8.9, h-index 179.
How long does peer review take at Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience?
Based on the dates recorded on 100 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 61 days (interquartile range 41–86 days); authors report an average review time of 6–12 weeks. 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 Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Keywords: 5–8; Reference style: Harvard; Templates: LaTeX and Word. 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 Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience based?
Of the 16 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (5), Germany (3) and Italy (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists Web of Science, PMC and Embase; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience open access, and what is the APC?
Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience is a fully open-access journal. APC charged, amount not published.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website, DOAJ; 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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .