What are the best journals for Cognitive Neuroscience?

From an 17,538-venue index, the highest-ranked Cognitive Neuroscience journals (by Scimago quartile then OpenAlex cites/paper) include Nature Neuroscience, Nature Human Behaviour, Cognitive Psychology, Trends in Cognitive Sciences, Learning and Motivation. Predatory venues are excluded. The full ranked list with open-access and indexing details is on this page; for a shortlist matched to your specific paper, use the Journal Finder (15 credits; free account starts with 25).

How were these Cognitive Neuroscience journals ranked?

By Scimago quartile first (Q1 → Q4), then by OpenAlex cites/paper over a 2-year window. Cites/paper is a transparent citation rate, not a licensed Impact Factor. We exclude journals flagged as predatory.

Why don't all Cognitive Neuroscience journals show a quartile?

Scimago doesn't cover every journal — many strong regional and open-access venues are absent from it. We show "no Scimago quartile" for those rather than hide them; it's a coverage gap, not a quality judgement.

How do I find the best journal for my specific Cognitive Neuroscience paper?

Paste your title and abstract into the Journal Finder — it returns a shortlist matched to your paper's topic from the same index, with acceptance-fit signals, open-access status, and predatory flags. A free account starts with 25 welcome credits; each run costs 15.

Cognitive Neuroscience · 260 journals indexed

Best journals for Cognitive Neuroscience

The top Cognitive Neuroscience journals ranked by Scimago quartile, then cites/paper (OpenAlex, 2-year window), drawn from an17,538-venue index. Predatory venues are excluded. These are field-wide rankings — for a shortlist matched to your specific paper, paste your title and abstract into the free Journal Finder.

Match journals to your paper →

All Best open-access journals Highest-impact journals

1
Nature Neuroscience
15.3 cites/paper · Q1 · Nature Portfolio
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
2
Nature Human Behaviour
11.3 cites/paper · Q1 · Nature Portfolio
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
3
Cognitive Psychology
10.7 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
4
Trends in Cognitive Sciences
8.1 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
5
Learning and Motivation
6.6 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
6
Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews
6.5 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
7
Translational Psychiatry
5.5 cites/paper · Q1 · Springer Nature
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
8
IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering
5.0 cites/paper · Q1 · Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
9
Autism
4.9 cites/paper · Q1 · SAGE Publishing
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
10
Current Directions in Psychological Science
4.7 cites/paper · Q1 · SAGE Publishing
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
11
Psychological Science
4.5 cites/paper · Q1 · SAGE Publishing
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
12
Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences
4.5 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
13
Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
4.3 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
14
Biomedical Signal Processing and Control
4.3 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
15
Psychological Review
4.1 cites/paper · Q1 · American Psychological Association
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
16
Human Brain Mapping
3.9 cites/paper · Q1 · Wiley
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
17
Journal of Experimental Psychology Human Perception & Performance
3.8 cites/paper · Q1 · American Psychological Association
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
18
Philosophy & Technology
3.8 cites/paper · Q1 · Springer Nature (Netherlands)
ScopusPubMed
19
Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience
3.7 cites/paper · Q1 · Frontiers Media
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
20
Behavior Research Methods
3.5 cites/paper · Q1 · Springer Science+Business Media
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
21
Journal of Neural Engineering
3.4 cites/paper · Q1 · IOP Publishing
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
22
Brain Communications
3.4 cites/paper · Q1 · Oxford University Press
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
23
NeuroImage
3.4 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
24
Cerebral Cortex
3.3 cites/paper · Q1 · Oxford University Press
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
25
Physics of Life Reviews
3.0 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
26
IEEE Transactions on Cognitive and Developmental Systems
3.0 cites/paper · Q1 · Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
27
Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience
2.9 cites/paper · Q1 · Frontiers Media
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
28
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
2.8 cites/paper · Q1 · Frontiers Media
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
29
eNeuro
2.8 cites/paper · Q1 · Society for Neuroscience
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
30
Frontiers in Psychology
2.8 cites/paper · Q1 · Frontiers Media
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
31
Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience
2.8 cites/paper · Q1 · Frontiers Media
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
32
Psychophysiology
2.7 cites/paper · Q1 · Wiley
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
33
Autism Research
2.7 cites/paper · Q1 · Wiley
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
34
NeuroImage Clinical
2.7 cites/paper · Q1 · Elsevier BV
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
35
Brain Topography
2.6 cites/paper · Q1 · Springer Science+Business Media
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
36
Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience
2.6 cites/paper · Q1 · The MIT Press
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
37
Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience
2.6 cites/paper · Q1 · University of Oxford
Open AccessDOAJScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
38
Cognitive Affective & Behavioral Neuroscience
2.6 cites/paper · Q1 · Springer Science+Business Media
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
39
Neuropsychobiology
2.5 cites/paper · Q1 · Karger Publishers
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed
40
Psychonomic Bulletin & Review
2.5 cites/paper · Q1 · Springer Science+Business Media
ScopusWeb of SciencePubMed

“Cites/paper” is the OpenAlex 2-year citation rate — a transparent signal, not a licensed Impact Factor. Many regional and open-access journals are strong but aren’t covered by Scimago, so they show “no Scimago quartile”; that’s a coverage gap, not a quality judgement.

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