Journal profile · NEUROSCIENCES
Molecular Brain
ISSN 1756-6606 · BioMed Central · ENGLAND · Founded 2008
Molecular Brain: CAS Zone 3 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3.91; fully open access; APC about USD 2,890; median 97 days to acceptance (96 articles, last 24 months); 100 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Molecular Brain is published by BioMed Central 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, Neurogenesis and neuroplasticity mechanisms and Memory and Neural Mechanisms, together about 33.3% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Molecular Brain is an open access, peer-reviewed journal that considers manuscripts on all aspects of studies on the nervous system at the molecular, cellular, and systems level providing a forum for scientists to communicate their findings. Molecular brain research is a rapidly expanding research field in which integrative approaches at the genetic, molecular, cellular and synaptic levels yield key information about the physiological and pathological brain. These studies involve the use of a wide range of modern techniques in molecular biology, genomics, proteomics, imaging and electrophysiology.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): NEUROSCIENCES
Editor-in-chief Graham CollingridgePublisher website
Editorial board by country: 4 in mainland China (about 5%); most named United States 19, Japan 18, Canada 15, South Korea 10, United Kingdom 5 (80 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology ResearchNeuroscience18.9%
- Neurogenesis and neuroplasticity mechanismsNeuroscience7.5%
- Memory and Neural MechanismsNeuroscience6.9%
- Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration MechanismsNeuroscience6.4%
- Alzheimer's disease research and treatmentsMedicine5.4%
- Pain Mechanisms and TreatmentsMedicine4.6%
- Ion channel regulation and functionBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.4%
- Genetics and Neurodevelopmental DisordersBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.1%
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 4 |
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
MEDLINEEmbaseCASPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, Baidu, Naver, OCLC, Portico, CLOCKSS
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
- 3.91LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 3.8Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 3.7Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 5.7LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.24LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.77LetPub ·
- h-index
- 50LetPub ·
- h-index
- 101OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,114OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 4.39OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 2.6%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 95LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 1,400,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,600 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 80 | 80 | 30 |
| 2025 | 100 | 100 | 364 |
| 2024 | 96 | 96 | 817 |
| 2023 | 83 | 83 | 1,040 |
| 2022 | 102 | 102 | 1,621 |
| 2021 | 176 | 176 | 3,628 |
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 Crossref · to
97 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 55 days – 128 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 15 days (96 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 117 days
- Sample
- 96 articles with submission and acceptance dates (208 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)
- over 12 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 13 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 7 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 | EUR 2,490 / USD 2,890 / GBP 2,190 | Yes | CC BY, CC0 | |
| OpenAlex | USD 2,890 / EUR 2,490 / GBP 2,190 | — | — | |
| LetPub | GBP 2,090 / USD 2,790 / EUR 2,390 | 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)
Open calls for papers1, by deadline
- Fear ConditioningDeadline
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
- BioMed Central
- Country or region
- ENGLAND
- Language
- English
- Founded
- 2008
- ISSN
- 1756-6606
- Society / sponsor
- Association for the Study of Neurons and Disease
- 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 Molecular Brain
What CAS zone is Molecular Brain in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Molecular Brain 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 Molecular Brain?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 3.91; CiteScore 5.7, h-index 101.
How long does peer review take at Molecular Brain?
Based on the dates recorded on 96 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 97 days (interquartile range 55–128 days); authors report an average review time of over 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.
Where are the editorial board members of Molecular Brain based?
Of the 80 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 4 (about 5%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (19), Japan (18) and Canada (15). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Molecular Brain?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Molecular Brain is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists MEDLINE, Embase and CAS; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Molecular Brain open access, and what is the APC?
Molecular Brain is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 2,890.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, DOAJ, Publisher website; 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: .