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Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience
📊 Overview
* 'Publisher': Frontiers Media SA
* 'Launch': 2009
* 'Indexing': PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science (SCI-E)
* 'Impact Factor (2025)': ≈ 4.5
* 'CiteScore': ≈ 8.6
* 'Field': Aging, neurodegeneration, cognitive decline, dementia
✅ Strengths
- High visibility and citation metrics
- Q1 journal in aging neuroscience.
- >180,000 citations since launch.
- 4th most cited journal in Geriatrics & Gerontology (open access).
- Interactive peer review
- Dialogue-based system among reviewers, editors, and authors.
- Median time to first decision: 6–8 weeks.
- Open access & global reach
- All content immediately available.
- Strong discoverability and dissemination in non-subscribed institutions.
⚠️ Weaknesses and Criticisms
- Publisher reputation (Frontiers Media)
- Previously listed in Jeffrey Beall’s list of potentially predatory publishers.
- Criticized for pressuring editors to accept more papers and for monetizing the APC (article processing charge) model.
- Peer review concerns
- Reports of inconsistent quality and potential editorial bias toward acceptance.
- Editorial independence questioned in past controversies (e.g., removal of rigorous editors).
- Ethical oversight
- Past retractions in sister journals (e.g., *Frontiers in Psychology*) due to editorial interference and ethical disputes.
🧭 Who Should Consider It?
| You are… | Verdict |
|---|---|
| A researcher seeking fast, visible publication | 'Recommended' |
| Focused on top-tier selectivity and academic prestige | 'Use with caution' |
| A clinician referencing systematic reviews | 'Check methodology critically' |
📌 Summary Judgment
Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience is a widely cited, open-access journal with rapid review and good thematic focus on aging-related neuroscience. However, concerns about publisher practices, peer review rigor, and editorial independence warrant a critical eye when publishing or citing.
🔎 Tips Before Submitting or Citing
- Analyze reviewer comments if available.
- Assess author background and affiliations.
- Prioritize well-structured, methodologically robust articles.
- Consider alternative journals for high-prestige submissions (e.g.,
Aging Cell,Neurobiology of Aging).