Journal profile · Social Sciences-Linguistics and Language
Neurobiology of Language
ISSN 2641-4368 · The MIT Press · United States
Neurobiology of Language: CAS Zone 1 · Psychology (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 3.7 (journal website); fully open access; APC about USD 1,150; median 203 days to acceptance (71 articles, last 24 months); 47 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Neurobiology of Language is published by The MIT Press and is in Zone 1 of Psychology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism, Reading and Literacy Development and Action Observation and Synchronization, together about 47.3% of its articles. Its main subfields are Cognitive Neuroscience. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Neurobiology of Language provides a new venue for articles across a range of disciplines addressing the neurobiological basis of speech and language. Offering open access publishing, rigorous double-anonymized peer review, and quick turnaround times for authors, the journal aims to facilitate the replicability of experimental findings through modern open science requirements such as sharing of raw data and detailed methods. Sponsored by the Society for the Neurobiology of Language, the journal invites innovative work that significantly advances the understanding of language mechanisms as implemented in the human brain. Topics of interest include the biological foundations of perceptual, cognitive, motor, and linguistic processes used to produce and understand language in children and adults, and in healthy individuals and those with brain disorders. Work on the evolutionary basis of the brain mechanisms of language in other animals, and in neural computation, are also germane. The editors welcome articles drawing on a range of methods including, but not limited to, behavioral paradigms, functional and structural neuroanatomy, genetics, extracranial and intracranial brain stimulation and recording, and brain-computer interfaces. They also encourage submissions in the form of novel experimental studies, clinical and nonclinical trials, replication studies, computational and theoretical models, and review articles.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Social Sciences-Linguistics and Language
Editor-in-chief Steven L. Small and Kate E. WatkinsPublisher website
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Neurobiology of Language and BilingualismNeuroscience27.2%
- Reading and Literacy DevelopmentPsychology12.3%
- Action Observation and SynchronizationPsychology7.7%
- Language Development and DisordersPsychology6.5%
- Neuroscience and Music PerceptionNeuroscience6.5%
- EEG and Brain-Computer InterfacesNeuroscience4.4%
- Phonetics and Phonology ResearchPsychology3.9%
- Language, Metaphor, and CognitionPsychology3.5%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Psychology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Psychology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Psychology, Experimental | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Linguistics | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Neurosciences | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Psychology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Psychology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Linguistics | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Neurosciences | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Psychology, Experimental | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
ESCIScopusDOAJLetPub
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 (publisher) 2025
- 3.7Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 6.8LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.37LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2024
- 29Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.16LetPub ·
- h-index
- 36OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 158OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 8.1%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 35LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 335 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 32 | 32 | 2 |
| 2025 | 47 | 47 | 83 |
| 2024 | 32 | 32 | 248 |
| 2023 | 33 | 33 | 498 |
| 2022 | 32 | 32 | 645 |
| 2021 | 35 | 35 | 748 |
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
203 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 178 days – 263 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 91 days (71 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 300 days
- Sample
- 71 articles with submission and acceptance dates (79 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 17 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 17 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Double 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 | USD 1,150 | Yes | CC BY | |
| OpenAlex | USD 1,100 | — | — | |
| LetPub | USD 1,150 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 1,200 / USD 1,800 | — | — |
Other charges and waivers (author guidelines)
- Submission fee
- USD 1,800
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 prepare6 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 3,000 words
- Reference style
- APA
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted15, with length limits
- commentaryNoL currently accepts the following article types: Research Articles Novel Research: Reports on original studies that expand knowledge in areas of importance fo…Length not stated
- editorialNoL currently accepts the following article types: Research Articles Novel Research: Reports on original studies that expand knowledge in areas of importance fo…Length not stated
- editorialsEditorials Editorials are occasionally published to update the readership on developments in the field or important news regarding the journal.Length not stated
- hypothesisNoL currently accepts the following article types: Research Articles Novel Research: Reports on original studies that expand knowledge in areas of importance fo…Length not stated
- perspectiveNoL currently accepts the following article types: Research Articles Novel Research: Reports on original studies that expand knowledge in areas of importance fo…main text ≤ 3,000 words
- perspectivesPerspectives Perspectives offer concise and thought-provoking commentary on significant issues, emerging trends, or recent developments in the field.Length not stated
- protocolNoL currently accepts the following article types: Research Articles Novel Research: Reports on original studies that expand knowledge in areas of importance fo…Length not stated
- registered reportNoL currently accepts the following article types: Research Articles Novel Research: Reports on original studies that expand knowledge in areas of importance fo…Length not stated
- registered reportsRegistered Reports Registered Reports are a specific form of research article in which the methods and proposed analyses are pre-registered and reviewed prior t…Length not stated
- research articleNoL currently accepts the following article types: Research Articles Novel Research: Reports on original studies that expand knowledge in areas of importance fo…Length not stated
- research articlesNoL currently accepts the following article types: Research ArticlesLength not stated
- research paperNoL currently accepts the following article types: Research Articles Novel Research: Reports on original studies that expand knowledge in areas of importance fo…Length not stated
- reviewNoL currently accepts the following article types: Research Articles Novel Research: Reports on original studies that expand knowledge in areas of importance fo…Length not stated
- review articleNoL currently accepts the following article types: Research Articles Novel Research: Reports on original studies that expand knowledge in areas of importance fo…Length not stated
- reviewsReviews Reviews describe and synthesize conceptual advances and/or critically appraise a field or topic of importance for the neurobiology of language, and high…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Code availability, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints
- AI use
AI use must be disclosed Model summary
Any use of AI tools in generating the text must be clearly explained within the text and in the submission cover letter.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Code availability Data and code availability statements
All papers must include a statement regarding the availability of all data used in the study. Newly acquired data or metadata should be made openly available through one of the recommended open repositories, preferably at the time of submission. If data cannot be made openly available, a reason must be provided (for example, due to ethics or privacy issues, or institutional restrictions). A statem…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest
Competing interests statement required Model summary
All articles require a statement of competing interests before publication, made by the corresponding author on behalf of all co-authors.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability
Open data and code sharing required for Research articles Model summary
Neurobiology of Language requires authors of Research articles to openly share all data and other materials that are essential for reproducing the article’s key findings and conclusions, and for building on the published work.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics
No duplicate submission Model summary
Neurobiology of Language does not consider manuscripts that are published or that are currently under consideration elsewhere.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright
CC BY license Model summary
Make sure all authors understand and agree that your article will be published under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, which allows free and unlimited reuse of articles without permission or fees.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open Access and Article Processing Charges
open science requirements such as sharing of raw data and detailed methods Model summary
Please click here for information on open access and article processing charges in Neurobiology of Language. Publication Fees Neurobiology of Language is an open access, online-only journal. This gold OA journal charges an APC (Article Processing Charge) of $1200 per article for members of the Society for the Neurobiology of Language (to become a member, click here) and $1800 per article for non-m…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Double-anonymized review process
Double-anonymized review process Model summary
NoL uses a double-anonymized review process, which means the identities of both the authors and reviewers are concealed – to the extent possible -- throughout the review process. To facilitate this, authors should ensure their manuscripts are prepared in a way that does not reveal their identity. Here are some guidelines when submitting your paper: Remove author names and contact information from …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints
Preprints not considered prior publication Model summary
The following are not considered prior publication: preprints in bioRxiv, ArXiv, Open Science Framework, conference abstracts, theses, and poster presentations.
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
- The MIT Press
- Country or region
- United States
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2641-4368
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 7 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- 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
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Neurobiology of Language
What CAS zone is Neurobiology of Language in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Neurobiology of Language is in Zone 1 of Psychology, and in Zone 1 of the minor category Psychology, Experimental / Linguistics / Neurosciences; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Psychology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Neurobiology of Language?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 3.7 (2025); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 6.8, h-index 36.
How long does peer review take at Neurobiology of Language?
Based on the dates recorded on 71 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 203 days (interquartile range 178–263 days); authors report an average review time of about 17 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 Neurobiology of Language?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Manuscript length: ≤ 3,000 words; Reference style: APA; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; Suggested reviewers: Optional; 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.
Which databases index Neurobiology of Language?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Neurobiology of Language is indexed in ESCI, Scopus and DOAJ.
Is Neurobiology of Language open access, and what is the APC?
Neurobiology of Language is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 1,150.
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: .