This page contains a list of the main journals I follow in the field of neuroscience, and their 2005 impact factors (and other statistical measures such as the half-life).
Scientific journals are ranked through the so-called impact factor. The journal impact factor is the average number of times articles from the journal published in the past two years have been cited the following year. The 2005 impact factor for a specific journal is based on how many times that journal's papers from 2003 and 2004 are cited in 2005. For example, if A = 2005 cites to articles published in a specific journal in 2003-2004, and B = total number of articles published in 2003-2004, the impact factor of that specific journal in 2005 is A/B.
Impact factors are calculated each year by the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) for those journals which it tracks, and published in the Journal Citation Report. The list can be accessed by this isiknowledge link.
The table below shows a list of some of the journals I follow sorted by impact factor. For explanation of the other terms, such as half-life, see this wikipedia link.
| Abbreviated Journal Title | ISSN | 2005 Total Cites |
Impact Factor |
Immediacy Index |
2005 Articles |
Cited Half-life |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SCIENCE | 0036-8075 | 345991 | 30.927 | 6.398 | 827 | 7.3 |
| NATURE | 0028-0836 | 372784 | 29.273 | 5.825 | 1065 | 7.5 |
| J NEUROSCI | 0270-6474 | 96732 | 7.506 | 1.254 | 1232 | 5.8 |
| BIOPHYS J | 0006-3495 | 33191 | 4.507 | 0.963 | 802 | 6.1 |
| J NEUROPHYSIOL | 0022-3077 | 35617 | 3.853 | 0.810 | 716 | 8.0 |
| PHYS REV E | 1539-3755 | 48497 | 2.418 | 0.500 | 2525 | 4.9 |
| J COMPUT NEUROSCI | 0929-5313 | 843 | 2.359 | 0.415 | 41 | 5.5 |
| J NEUROSCI METH | 0165-0270 | 5609 | 1.784 | 0.352 | 230 | 8.1 |
Science: Science is a weekly, peer-reviewed journal that publishes significant original scientific research, plus reviews and analyses of current research and science policy. Information for authors.
Nature: Nature is a weekly, international, interdisciplinary journal of science. Information for authors.
The Journal of Neuroscience: The Journal of Neuroscience is the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience. It is published weekly by the Society, one volume a year. Information for authors.
Biophysical Journal: The Biophysical Journal publishes original articles, letters and reviews on biophysical topics, emphasizing the molecular and cellular aspects of biology. Information for authors.
Cerebral Cortex: The Cerebral Cortex publishes papers on the development, organization, plasticity, and function of the cerebral cortex, including the hippocampus. Studies with clear relevance to the cerebral cortex, such as the thalamocortical relationship or cortico-subcortical interactions, are also included. The journal is multidisciplinary and covers the large variety of modern neurobiological and neuropsychological techniques, including anatomy, biochemistry, molecular neurobiology, electrophysiology, behavior, artificial intelligence, and theoretical modeling. In addition to research articles, special features such as brief reviews, book reviews, and commentaries are included. Cerebral Cortex is published 12 times yearly. Information for authors.
Journal of Neurophysiology: The Journal of Neurophysiology publishes original articles on the function of the nervous system. All levels of function are included, from the membrane and cell to systems and behavior. Experimental approaches include molecular neurobiology, cell culture and slice preparations, membrane physiology, developmental neurobiology, functional neuroanatomy, neurochemistry, neuropharmacology, systems electrophysiology, imaging and mapping techniques, and behavioral analysis. Experimental preparations may be invertebrate or vertebrate species, including humans. Theoretical studies are acceptable if they are tied closely to the interpretation of experimental data and elucidate principles of broad interest. Information for authors.
Physical Review E: Physical Review E covers statistical, nonlinear and soft matter physics. Information for authors.
Journal of Computational Neuroscience: The Journal of Computational Neuroscience provides a forum for papers that fit the interface between computational and experimental work in the neurosciences. The Journal of Computational Neuroscience publishes full length original papers, rapid communications and review articles describing theoretical and experimental work relevant to computations in the brain and nervous system. Papers that combine theoretical and experimental work are especially encouraged. Primarily, theoretical papers should deal with issues of obvious relevance to biological nervous systems. Experimental papers should have implications for the computational function of the nervous system, and may report results using any of a variety of approaches including anatomy, electrophysiology, biophysics, imaging, and molecular biology. Papers investigating the physiological mechanisms underlying pathologies of the nervous system, or papers that report novel technologies of interest to researchers in computational neuroscience are also welcomed. It is anticipated that all levels of analysis from cognitive to cellular will be represented in the Journal of Computational Neuroscience. Information for authors.
Journal of Neuroscience Methods: The Journal of Neuroscience Methods publishes papers dealing with new methods or significant developments of recognised methods, used to investigate the organisation and fine structure, biochemistry, molecular biology, histo and cytochemistry, physiology, biophysics and pharmacology of receptors, neurones, synapses, and glial cells; in the nervous system of man, vertebrates and invertebrates - or applicable to the clinical and behavioural sciences, tissue culture, neurocommunications, biocybernetics or computer software. The journal publishes full-length research papers, short communications and invited critical reviews; articles should be written in sufficient detail to allow others to verify the above methods, however they should also be intelligible to a broad scientific audience. Information for authors.