Journal Molecular Psychiatry: Scope & Metrics

Molecular Psychiatry is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Nature Portfolio (part of Springer Nature) that covers the biological mechanisms underlying psychiatric disorders and their treatment. Established in 1996, the journal operates as a primary publication venue for research bridging cellular, molecular, genetic, and neuroimaging discoveries with clinical application.

For researchers in neuroscience and clinical investigators in psychiatry, understanding the journal’s editorial scope, review timelines, indexing coverage, and open-access publishing models is essential prior to citation or manuscript submission.

What It Is

Molecular Psychiatry is a specialized biomedical journal focusing on preclinical and translational psychiatric neuroscience. The journal is registered under ISSN 1359-4184 (print) and eISSN 1476-5578 (electronic), and is indexed in the National Library of Medicine catalog under NLM ID 9607835. Originally established by Stockton Press in 1996, publication was assumed by Nature Publishing Group (now Nature Portfolio) in 2000.

The publication functions under a transformative hybrid publishing model. Authors may choose between traditional subscription publication with no article processing charges or immediate Gold open access upon payment of an author fee. The journal publishes twelve issues per year alongside continuous online publication.

Who Runs It and What It Covers

Molecular Psychiatry is managed by Nature Portfolio’s editorial team alongside an international editorial board of academic psychiatrists, neurogeneticists, and neuroscientists. Editorial oversight encompasses rigorous single-blind peer review, data integrity screening, and compliance with Nature Portfolio reporting standards.

The journal’s scope encompasses biological psychiatry and mechanistic neurobiology across several defined domains:

• Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms: Studies examining synaptic plasticity, neurodevelopmental pathways, epigenetic regulation, and intracellular signaling cascades implicated in major psychiatric conditions.
• Psychiatric Genetics and Genomics: Large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWAS), sequencing projects, functional genomics, and polygenic risk analysis for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression, and neurodevelopmental conditions.
• Neuroimaging and Circuitry: Structural, functional (fMRI), and molecular (PET/SPECT) imaging linking localized neural circuits to behavioral phenotypes and cognitive phenotypes.
• Translational and Clinical Studies: Biomarker discovery, psychopharmacology, clinical trials, and observational cohort studies evaluating novel therapeutic targets and biological interventions.

The journal accepts multiple article formats, including original research articles, brief communications, authoritative reviews and analysis, news and commentary, and correspondence.

How to Search, Read, and Submit

Navigating Molecular Psychiatry involves distinct workflows for literature retrieval and author submissions:

Discovery and Indexing Coverage

Articles published in Molecular Psychiatry are indexed across major global biomedical databases. Key indexing venues include:

• MEDLINE / PubMed: Fully indexed with MeSH indexing terms including Mental Disorders, Molecular Biology, and Neurosciences.
• PubMed Central (PMC): Open-access articles and NIH-funded author manuscripts are deposited for public access.
• Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE): Indexed within Clarivate Web of Science categories for Psychiatry and Neurosciences.
• Scopus and Embase: Comprehensive citation indexing and abstract coverage by Elsevier.
• Specialized Databases: PsycINFO, BIOSIS, Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS), and SCImago.

Readers can access articles, collections, and advance online publications directly through the Nature Portfolio web platform or subscribe to table-of-contents RSS feeds.

Author Submission Workflow and Speed Metrics

Manuscripts are submitted via Nature Portfolio’s online manuscript tracking system. Submissions must adhere to Springer Nature editorial policies, including data availability statements, deposition of genetic and sequencing data in public repositories, and compliance with animal and human research ethics standards.

Official editorial performance metrics released by Nature Portfolio for Molecular Psychiatry indicate the following benchmark timelines:

• Median time to first editorial decision: 19 days.
• Median time from submission to final acceptance: 283 days.

Publishing Costs and Open Access Models

Following peer review and acceptance, authors choose between two publishing pathways:

• Subscription Route: Published at no charge ($0 APC) to the author. Articles are accessible to institutional subscribers and individual licensees, with author self-archiving governed by Springer Nature repository policies.
• Gold Open Access: The article is published under a Creative Commons attribution license (typically CC BY 4.0), making it immediately free to read globally. The Article Processing Charge (APC) is £3,790 / $5,690 / €4,590 (subject to local taxes and VAT).

The Gold open-access route provides full compliance with Plan S and the United States NIH Public Access Policy. Authors affiliated with institutions participating in Springer Nature transformative agreements (Read and Publish contracts) may have their APC covered partially or in full by their university or national consortium.

Strengths and Limits

Evaluating Molecular Psychiatry requires balancing its high academic influence against practical submission hurdles:

Strengths

• Citation Impact: The journal maintains a verified Journal Impact Factor of 10.4 (2025 release) and a 5-year Impact Factor of 12.2. Its SCImago Journal Rank (SJR) is 4.602, and its Source Normalized Impact per Paper (SNIP) is 3.181.
• Broad Global Reach: In 2025, the journal recorded over 11.2 million article downloads and more than 92,000 Altmetric mentions, ensuring high visibility among neuroscientists and clinicians.
• Rigorous Methodological Standards: High editorial scrutiny ensures reproducible study designs, statistical power validation, and transparent data sharing.

Limits

• Extended Review and Production Cycle: A median acceptance timeframe of 283 days requires authors with tight project deadlines to plan submissions well in advance.
• High Open Access Pricing: The standard APC of $5,690 (£3,790 / €4,590) presents a substantial cost for research teams without institutional transformative agreements or dedicated grant funding.
• Selective Acceptance Rate: As a Q1 journal in both psychiatry and neurosciences, the journal declines a high proportion of submitted manuscripts without external peer review.

Alternatives and Peer Journals

Researchers selecting a target journal for biological psychiatry and neuropsychiatric research frequently evaluate Molecular Psychiatry against closely related publications:

Journal Name	Publisher	Primary Focus	Access Model	Clarivate Category
Molecular Psychiatry	Nature Portfolio	Mechanisms of psychiatric disorders; preclinical and translational models	Hybrid ($5,690 APC or $0 subscription)	Psychiatry / Neurosciences
Translational Psychiatry	Nature Portfolio	Translational psychiatry, preclinical neurobiology, and clinical biomarker studies	Fully Open Access (Gold OA)	Psychiatry / Neurosciences
Biological Psychiatry	Elsevier / SOBP	Pathophysiology and treatment of psychiatric disorders, clinical neuroscience	Hybrid	Psychiatry / Neurosciences
JAMA Psychiatry	American Medical Association	Clinical trials, epidemiological cohorts, psychopathology, and health services	Hybrid	Psychiatry
The Lancet Psychiatry	Elsevier / Lancet	Clinical psychiatry, global mental health, social psychiatry, and therapy trials	Hybrid	Psychiatry
World Psychiatry	Wiley / WPA	Systematic reviews, expert consensus statements, and global psychiatric policies	Hybrid / Open Access	Psychiatry

Frequently Asked Questions

What does a biological psychiatrist do?

A biological psychiatrist is a medical doctor or clinical neuroscientist who studies and treats mental disorders through the lens of biological, physiological, and neurological mechanisms. Rather than focusing exclusively on psychological symptoms, biological psychiatrists investigate neurochemical signaling, brain structure and functional connectivity, genetic predispositions, neuroendocrine regulation, and psychopharmacological interventions to develop targeted medical therapies.

What is the JAMA Psychiatry journal?

JAMA Psychiatry is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal published by the American Medical Association (AMA), formerly titled Archives of General Psychiatry. While Molecular Psychiatry emphasizes molecular, cellular, and genetic mechanisms, JAMA Psychiatry primarily publishes major clinical trials, epidemiological cohort findings, psychotherapeutic interventions, and clinical diagnostic research.

Is Biological Psychiatry a good journal?

Yes. Biological Psychiatry is the official journal of the Society of Biological Psychiatry (SOBP), published by Elsevier. It is recognized as one of the top peer-reviewed journals in psychiatric neuroscience, consistently ranking in the first quartile (Q1) of psychiatry and neuroscience journals alongside Molecular Psychiatry.

Which Psychiatry journal has the highest impact factor?

In Clarivate’s Journal Citation Reports under the Psychiatry category, World Psychiatry (the official journal of the World Psychiatric Association) typically holds the highest nominal Journal Impact Factor, driven by high citation rates of comprehensive review articles. Among primary research and clinical trial journals, The Lancet Psychiatry, JAMA Psychiatry, and Molecular Psychiatry hold the top positions.

Sources and Policy Documentation

• Nature Portfolio: Molecular Psychiatry Journal Information, Aims, Scope, and Verified Metrics (URL: https://www.nature.com/mp/about; read 2026-11-07).
• Nature Portfolio: Open Access Fees, Funding, and Policy Mandates for Molecular Psychiatry (URL: https://www.nature.com/mp/open-access; read 2026-11-07).
• National Library of Medicine: NLM Catalog Record for Molecular Psychiatry (NLM ID: 9607835; URL: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nlmcatalog/9607835; read 2026-11-07).