Journal profile · Neurosciences
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
ISSN 1662-5161 · Frontiers Media S.A. · SWITZERLAND · Irregular · Founded 2008
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience: CAS Zone 4 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3.54; fully open access; APC charged, amount not published; median 70 days to acceptance (123 articles, last 24 months); 548 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience is published by Frontiers Media S.A. and is in Zone 4 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are EEG and Brain-Computer Interfaces, Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies and Functional Brain Connectivity Studies, together about 34.2% of its articles. Its main subfields are Cognitive Neuroscience. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience publishes research that advances our understanding of the brain mechanisms supporting cognitive and social behavior in humans, in both healthy and diseased states. It is indexed in PubMed Central (PMC), Scopus, Web of Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE), and the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). Led by Field Chief Editors Srikantan S Nagarajan (University of California, USA) and Jessica A Turner (the Ohio State University, USA), this multidisciplinary journal expands our knowledge of the brain’s mechanisms supporting cognitive processes and social behavior in humans, including memory, attention, language, and perception. Additionally, this journal provides a forum for studies that show how these processes unfold during development, mature in adulthood, and often decline in aging. The journal welcomes submissions spanning all areas of human cognitive, social, developmental and translational neuroscience using any research approach. Topics include: brain health and clinical neuroscience brain imaging and stimulation brain-computer interfaces cognitive neuroscience interacting minds and brains motor neuroscience sensory neuroscience speech and language. Similarly crucial, Frontiers in Human Neuroscience encourages contributions that support the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially SDG 3: good health and well-being; SDG 4: quality education; and SDG 10: reduced inequalities. Manuscripts that focus solely on clinical or medical aspects of human health, such as disease diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis, without a foundation in neuroscience are not suitable for publication in this journal. Similarly, studies that primarily focus on public health issues, epidemiology, or health policy without a foundation in the understanding of the human brain and its functions are outside the scope of this journal. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience is committed to advancing the study of the human brain by allowing unrestricted access to articles and communicating scientific knowledge to researchers and the public to enable future scientific breakthroughs. ------ Manuscripts reporting MRI data should follow the best practices for reporting and conducting studies using MRI proposed by the Organization for Human Brain Mapping, referred to as COBIDAS criteria. Manuscripts reporting EEG or MEG data should follow the best practices for reporting and conducting studies using those technologies also developed by the Organizatio
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Neurosciences
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 7, United Kingdom 1, South Korea 1, Germany 1, Italy 1 (16 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- EEG and Brain-Computer InterfacesNeuroscience12.1%
- Neural and Behavioral Psychology StudiesNeuroscience11.4%
- Functional Brain Connectivity StudiesNeuroscience10.7%
- Neural dynamics and brain functionNeuroscience10.1%
- Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation StudiesNeuroscience4.8%
- Action Observation and SynchronizationPsychology4.7%
- Neurobiology of Language and BilingualismNeuroscience4.6%
- Neuroscience and Music PerceptionNeuroscience4.5%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Psychology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Neurosciences | Zone 4 |
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 |
| Minor | Psychology | 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 |
| Minor | Psychology | 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 SciencePMCEmbasePsycINFOPublisher 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
- 3.54LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 3.6Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 5.9LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 5.9Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.91LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.16LetPub ·
- h-index
- 87LetPub ·
- h-index
- 227OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 6,847OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.56OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 2.8%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 99.87%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 481LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 14,034 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 549 | 549 | 196 |
| 2025 | 548 | 548 | 1,690 |
| 2024 | 544 | 544 | 3,948 |
| 2023 | 641 | 641 | 7,211 |
| 2022 | 927 | 927 | 12,892 |
| 2021 | 840 | 840 | 17,422 |
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
70 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 49 days – 99 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 21 days (123 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 92 days
- Sample
- 123 articles with submission and acceptance dates (1,187 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)
- 2–4 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
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
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
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
- Frequency
- Irregular
- Founded
- 2008
- ISSN
- 1662-5161
- 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 Human Neuroscience
What CAS zone is Frontiers in Human Neuroscience in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Frontiers in Human Neuroscience is in Zone 4 of Medicine, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Psychology / 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 Human Neuroscience?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 3.54; CiteScore 5.9, h-index 227.
How long does peer review take at Frontiers in Human Neuroscience?
Based on the dates recorded on 123 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 70 days (interquartile range 49–99 days); authors report an average review time of 2–4 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 Human 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 Human 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 (7), United Kingdom (1) and South Korea (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Frontiers in Human Neuroscience?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Frontiers in Human Neuroscience is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists Web of Science, PMC, Embase and PsycINFO; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Frontiers in Human Neuroscience open access, and what is the APC?
Frontiers in Human 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 2026-08-28). Last updated: .