Nature Neuroscience's 2026 Journal Metrics Score is 17.0, ranking Q1 in Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience and 1 other subfield. Two-year citation average from OpenAlex data, updated August 2026.
Bookmark this page — track observed submission-to-acceptance timing, FWCI and field-normalized citation data for this journal in one view.
Journal Metrics Score 2026 · 2021–2024 window citedness 19.75.
Middle 50%: 354–601 days
86 of 100 PubMed-indexed articles · 86% coverage · 2024–2025
Nature Neuroscience accepts papers a median of 455 days after submission, including peer review and revisions. That is slower than 100% of comparable journals with PubMed timing data.
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Each spoke is a 0–100 percentile within a comparable journal cohort—not a percentage grade or a single black-box rating.
630 of 1,067 works · same type, year & subfield
284 works · same type, year & subfield
Above field-year expectation
of 2,106 topic-associated OpenAlex sources by lifetime output
FWCI compares papers with the same publication year, type, and field. 1.0 is the world average; above 1.0 is above expectation. This journal's median is 5.33, so its typical recent paper runs about 433% above its field benchmark.
59% of recent papers rank in the global top 10% after field normalization. This is easier to compare across specialties than raw citation totals.
Volume is separated from citation accumulation so newer papers are not presented as weaker simply because they are newer.
OpenAlex source records · 2016–2025
1,067 OpenAlex works · 2021–2024
OpenAlex topics show research communities; MeSH keeps the medical taxonomy recognizable.
Select a MeSH signal to see how much Nature Neuroscience publishes on it, from PubMed counts for the last five complete years.
Candidates share at least one OpenAlex subfield (or field, if too few do) with this journal's main research topics, ignoring generic catch-all topics, and are ordered by topic overlap, then current Journal Metrics Score.
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| Category | Quartile |
|---|---|
| Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience | Q1 |
| Cognitive Neuroscience | Q1 |
Yes. One of the most-cited journals in Neuroscience
Yes. By citation data, Nature Neuroscience is one of the most-cited journals in Neuroscience: it ranks #4 of 1,171 Neuroscience journals by Journal Metrics Score (top 1%) and is Q1 in Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience and 1 other subfield. Nature Neuroscience's 2026 Journal Metrics Score is 17.0. Recent papers took a median of 455 days from submission to acceptance, according to PubMed dates. OpenAlex lists an indicative article processing charge of $11,690 USD. OpenAlex classifies its papers in subfields including Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience and Cognitive Neuroscience, so check that your topic fits its scope.
Verdict from citation data only: quartile and field rank by Journal Metrics Score (OpenAlex), publisher-reported acceptance rates, and PubMed submission and acceptance dates. See how we rank journals and how to verify indexing.
Confirm the exact title and ISSNs against the publisher homepage before a high-stakes submission decision.
2026 Journal Metrics Scores for 13 of 59 Nature journals published by Nature Portfolio, highest score first. Each journal is scored separately; there is no combined score for the Nature family.
Source: the current OpenAlex source record. OpenAlex works can include multiple work types. Fully Open Access is a source-level flag. Recent OA Works is summed from OpenAlex's counts_by_year series (up to the latest ten years); it is not a lifetime OA percentage. Any APC shown here is an indicative OpenAlex value—verify current charges on the journal's official website.
OpenAlex classifies Nature Neuroscience's papers in subfields including Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience and Cognitive Neuroscience. Read the aims and scope page and a few recent papers close to your topic before you prepare the manuscript.
Article types, word and figure limits, reference style, and the required statements (data availability, ethics, conflicts of interest, author contributions) are set by the journal. Prepare the cover letter and files to match them.
Nature Neuroscience homepage ↗Use the submit link in Nature Neuroscience's author guidelines; Nature Portfolio runs the submission site. Every author usually needs an ORCID iD, and the corresponding author needs an account on the submission site.
OpenAlex lists an indicative article processing charge of $11,690 USD. Check the current fee, waivers, and any institutional agreement on the journal website.
Recent accepted papers took a median of 455 days from submission to acceptance, including revisions (PubMed dates). Nature Neuroscience does not publish an acceptance rate.
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See what the report coversYes. By citation data, Nature Neuroscience is one of the most-cited journals in Neuroscience: it ranks #4 of 1,171 Neuroscience journals by Journal Metrics Score (top 1%) and is Q1 in Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience and 1 other subfield. Nature Neuroscience's 2026 Journal Metrics Score is 17.0. Recent papers took a median of 455 days from submission to acceptance, according to PubMed dates. OpenAlex lists an indicative article processing charge of $11,690 USD. OpenAlex classifies its papers in subfields including Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience and Cognitive Neuroscience, so check that your topic fits its scope.
Nature Neuroscience's 2026 Journal Metrics Score is 17.0, from the August 2026 data release. The score is a two-year citation average computed from OpenAlex (CC0) data: citations received in the most recent complete year to works published in the two prior years, divided by the number of those works.
We have not found an official acceptance rate published by Nature Neuroscience or its publisher, and Journal Metrics does not estimate one because submission counts are not public. What recent PubMed records do show is speed: accepted papers took a median of 455 days from submission to acceptance. To judge selectivity, compare Nature Neuroscience's quartile and score with similar journals, or ask the editorial office.
Nature Neuroscience's best quartile is Q1. By OpenAlex subfield: Q1 in Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience; Q1 in Cognitive Neuroscience. Quartiles rank journals by Journal Metrics Score within each subfield.
No. Journal Metrics computes the score independently from OpenAlex open data. Other providers use different citation databases, document types, and counting rules, so their published figures for Nature Neuroscience will not match this score exactly. Compare journals using one source at a time.
Nature Neuroscience accepts papers a median of 455 days after submission across 86 recent PubMed records with both dates; the middle half took 354–601 days. This includes peer review, editorial handling, and revisions.
PubMed records when a manuscript was received and accepted, not the individual review stages, so peer review time on its own is not available. The full time from submission to acceptance at Nature Neuroscience, which includes peer review and revisions, has a median of 455 days. For the time to a first decision, check the journal's own website.
Nature Neuroscience's median of 455 days from submission to acceptance is slower than 100% of comparable journals with PubMed timing data.
OpenAlex lists an indicative article processing charge of $11,690 USD for Nature Neuroscience. This journal-level estimate may exclude taxes, waivers, discounts, or article-type fees, so confirm the current charge on the journal's website.
Comparable journals include Neuron, Nature Reviews Neuroscience, Annual Review of Neuroscience, and Current Opinion in Neurobiology. Compare their scores, acceptance times, and costs in the recommended alternatives on this page before choosing where to submit.
Submit online through the link in Nature Neuroscience's author guidelines on the journal homepage. Before submitting, check the scope, follow the author guidelines for article type, length, and required statements, and prepare a cover letter. Accepted papers took a median of 455 days from submission to acceptance in recent PubMed records.