Frontiers in Psychiatry

About Frontiers in Psychiatry

DEPTH-135-OCT2026: researched profile — verify figures on the official publisher page.

About Frontiers in Psychiatry

Frontiers in Psychiatry is an interdisciplinary, gold open-access journal published by Frontiers Media (Lausanne, Switzerland), launched in 2010 as part of the Frontiers journal series. It has grown into one of the highest-volume psychiatry journals in the world — a fully open-access venue where every article is freely available to read, download, and reuse under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, with authors retaining copyright of their work.

The journal defines its mission around translational, "bench-to-bedside" science: research that moves from basic discovery toward better therapeutic options for mental illness and, ultimately, better patient outcomes. Its pages span the full spectrum of translational, basic, and clinical research in psychiatry — covering the diagnosis, nature, causes, treatment, and public-health dimensions of mental illness — organized into 27 specialty sections, each led by its own specialty chief editors. Manuscripts are submitted directly to a specialty section and peer-reviewed by that section's associate editors and community reviewers.

Editorially, the journal is led by Field Chief Editor Prof. Stefan Borgwardt of the University of Lübeck, Germany. Frontiers' publishing model distributes editorial decision-making across a large community of associate editors rather than concentrating it in a small in-house team: submitting authors may suggest a preferred handling editor, associate editors invite reviewers and take final acceptance decisions, and the review process runs through an interactive online forum in which authors and reviewers discuss revisions directly. The journal uses single-anonymized peer review — reviewers' identities are hidden from authors, while authors' identities are visible to reviewers — and publishes the names and affiliations of handling editors and reviewers on each article.

By the metrics displayed on its official journal page, Frontiers in Psychiatry carries a Journal Impact Factor of 3.8 and a CiteScore of 6.3. It is indexed in Scopus, the Web of Science (Social Sciences Citation Index, per the publisher), PubMed and PubMed Central, Embase, PsycINFO, and the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), among many other services, and it is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

History

Frontiers in Psychiatry was founded in 2010 by Frontiers Media as the psychiatry title in its expanding series of open-access journals built around specialty sections and community-led peer review. (Its DOAJ record notes open-access publishing since 2009 — a one-year discrepancy with the publisher's stated 2010 start year that likely reflects early volume dating; the publisher's 2010 date is used here as primary.)

The journal grew rapidly through the 2010s, riding the broader expansion of open-access publishing and establishing itself as a high-volume outlet spanning nearly thirty psychiatric subspecialties — from ADHD, autism, and mood disorders to computational psychiatry, digital mental health, neurostimulation, and public mental health. In 2025 Frontiers marked "15 years of Frontiers in Psychiatry" with a dedicated research topic, underscoring the journal's longevity in the open-access space.

Throughout its history the journal has kept the Frontiers editorial architecture: a Field Chief Editor providing overall leadership, specialty chief editors directing each section's scope, and a large distributed board of associate editors handling peer review. The current Field Chief Editor, Prof. Stefan Borgwardt (University of Lübeck, Germany), was verified in this role on the journal's official about page in October 2026.

Aims and Scope

The journal's stated mission is to advance translational approaches — from laboratory bench to clinical bedside — that improve therapeutic options for mental illness and patient treatment outcomes. It seeks submissions communicating translational progress and innovation across all fields of psychiatry. Areas covered by its 27 specialty sections include, among others:

• ADHD, autism, and intellectual disabilities;
• Addictive disorders and behavioral/psychiatric genetics;
• Adolescent and young adult psychiatry, aging psychiatry, and perinatal psychiatry;
• Anxiety and stress disorders, mood disorders, psychopathology, and personality disorders;
• Computational psychiatry, digital mental health, and social neuroscience;
• Forensic psychiatry, public mental health, and social psychiatry and psychiatric rehabilitation;
• Molecular psychiatry, neuroimaging, neurostimulation, psychopharmacology, and sleep disorders;
• Psychological therapy and psychosomatics, and mental health occupational therapy.

The journal notes explicit boundaries: studies focused primarily on the physiology of non-psychiatric diseases (such as cancer or stroke) without a psychiatric or mental-health foundation are not suitable; neither are studies of the purely physical effects of treatments (side effects, motor function) lacking a mental-health basis, nor purely statistical or demographic work without grounding in psychiatric practice or theory. General Commentary articles and Book Reviews are accepted only by invitation. Computational studies built on public datasets (for example Mendelian randomization or NHANES analyses) must include appropriate validation under Frontiers' research-standards policy. The journal actively welcomes submissions supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals, notably SDG 3 (good health and well-being).

Editorial Leadership

Field Chief Editor: Prof. Stefan Borgwardt (University of Lübeck, Germany) — verified on the journal's official about page (frontiersin.org) in October 2026. As Field Chief Editor he provides overall editorial leadership for the journal across its 27 specialty sections.

Each specialty section is directed by its own specialty chief editor(s), listed with names and affiliations on the journal's website. Examples verified on the official section pages include: Prof. Paul Stokes (King's College London) for Mood Disorders; Dr. Roberto Ciccocioppo (University of Camerino) for Psychopharmacology; Dr. Ming Li (Zhejiang University) for Molecular Psychiatry; Prof. Wulf Rössler (Charité University Medicine Berlin) for Public Mental Health; Dr. Xavier Noel (Université libre de Bruxelles) and Dr. Antoine Bechara (University of Southern California) for Psychopathology; and Dr. Roseann Peterson (SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University) for Behavioral and Psychiatric Genetics. Peer review itself is carried out by the sections' associate editors and community reviewers.

Editorial note: no stale-editor conflict was found — the Field Chief Editor named here comes directly from the publisher's current journal page. Specialty chief editors rotate over time; readers should confirm any individual name on the live section page before citing it.

Key Facts at a Glance

Impact Factor and CiteScore above are the figures displayed on the publisher's own journal page; third-party aggregator figures (SJR, h-index) are estimates. Clarivate's Journal Citation Reports is the authoritative source for the Impact Factor.

Landmark Papers

The ten papers below are the most-cited works ever published in Frontiers in Psychiatry according to OpenAlex citation data (October 2026). Every DOI was verified as registered and resolvable through the Crossref API during research for this profile. Citation counts are approximate and change over time.

1. COVID-19 Pandemic and Lockdown Measures Impact on Mental Health Among the General Population in Italy

Rossi R, Socci V, Talevi D, Mensi S, et al. (2020). Cited ≈1,458 times (OpenAlex, Oct 2026). DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00790

One of the earliest assessments of population mental health under pandemic lockdown, this study surveyed the Italian general population during the first wave of COVID-19 — when Italy was the first Western country to impose nationwide restrictions — documenting rates of depression, anxiety, and stress-related symptoms. It is the most-cited paper in the journal's history and became a reference point for lockdown mental-health research worldwide.

2. The Impact of Climate Change on Mental Health: A Systematic Descriptive Review

Cianconi P, Betrò S, Janiri L (2020). Cited ≈1,311 times (OpenAlex, Oct 2026). DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00074

An agenda-setting systematic descriptive review mapping how climate change affects mental health — from the psychological toll of extreme weather events and displacement to emerging concepts such as eco-anxiety and solastalgia. It helped consolidate climate psychiatry as a recognized research domain.

3. Vagus Nerve as Modulator of the Brain–Gut Axis in Psychiatric and Inflammatory Disorders

Breit S, Kupferberg A, Rogler G, Hasler G (2018). Cited ≈1,180 times (OpenAlex, Oct 2026). DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00044

A widely cited review of the vagus nerve's role in bidirectional brain–gut communication, covering its relevance to depression, anxiety, and inflammatory disorders, and the therapeutic rationale for vagus nerve stimulation in psychiatry.

4. Anxiety Disorders are Associated with Reduced Heart Rate Variability: A Meta-Analysis

Chalmers JA, Quintana DS, Abbott MJ, Kemp AH (2014). Cited ≈1,068 times (OpenAlex, Oct 2026). DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2014.00080

This meta-analysis pooled evidence showing that anxiety disorders are associated with reduced heart rate variability — an index of autonomic dysregulation — strengthening the physiological link between anxiety and cardiovascular risk and informing biomarker research in psychiatry.

5. The Computational Anatomy of Psychosis

Adams RA, Stephan KE, Brown HR, Frith CD, Friston KJ (2013). Cited ≈871 times (OpenAlex, Oct 2026). DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2013.00047

A foundational paper in computational psychiatry, proposing a formal framework — grounded in predictive coding and Bayesian brain theory — for understanding the mechanisms of psychosis. It has been highly influential in the computational modeling of schizophrenia and delusions.

6. Survey of Insomnia and Related Social Psychological Factors Among Medical Staff Involved in the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Disease Outbreak

Zhang C, Yang L, Liu S, Ma S, et al. (2020). Cited ≈786 times (OpenAlex, Oct 2026). DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00306

An early-pandemic survey documenting insomnia and its social-psychological correlates among frontline medical staff in China — among the first studies to quantify sleep disruption in healthcare workers during COVID-19, and widely cited in occupational mental-health literature.

7. Cell-Phone Addiction: A Review

De-Sola Gutiérrez J, Rodríguez de Fonseca F, Rubio G (2016). Cited ≈723 times (OpenAlex, Oct 2026). DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2016.00175

A comprehensive review of problematic mobile-phone use — its prevalence, psychological correlates, and overlap with behavioral-addiction frameworks — that became a standard citation as smartphone overuse entered the psychiatric research agenda.

8. Economic and Health Predictors of National Postpartum Depression Prevalence: A Systematic Review, Meta-analysis, and Meta-Regression of 291 Studies from 56 Countries

Hahn-Holbrook J, Cornwell-Hinrichs T, Anaya I (2018). Cited ≈640 times (OpenAlex, Oct 2026). DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2017.00248

A large-scale synthesis of 291 studies across 56 countries examining how national economic and health indicators predict postpartum depression prevalence — a landmark in global perinatal mental-health epidemiology.

9. Effects of Exercise and Physical Activity on Anxiety

Anderson EH, Shivakumar G (2013). Cited ≈606 times (OpenAlex, Oct 2026). DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2013.00027

A review of evidence on exercise and physical activity as interventions for anxiety — covering proposed mechanisms and clinical findings — frequently cited in lifestyle-psychiatry and anxiety-treatment literature.

10. Systematic Review of Gut Microbiota and Major Depression

Cheung SG, Goldenthal AR, Uhlemann A-C, Mann JJ, et al. (2019). Cited ≈596 times (OpenAlex, Oct 2026). DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00034

A systematic review of the evidence linking gut-microbiota composition to major depressive disorder, contributing to the fast-growing microbiome–mental health literature and its translational therapeutic implications.

Publishing Model and Access

Frontiers in Psychiatry is a gold open-access journal: every article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, freely readable and reusable by anyone, with authors retaining copyright. Open access here is funded by article publishing charges (APCs) paid on articles that pass peer review and are accepted by the journal's independent editorial boards — the standard gold-OA business model.

Article processing charges (official publishing-fees page, frontiersin.org):

• A-type articles (Original Research, Systematic Review, Methods, Review, Hypothesis and Theory, Clinical Trial, Study Protocol): CHF 3,150;
• B-type articles (Mini Review, Perspective, Brief Research Report, General Commentary, Opinion, and — depending on section — Case Report): CHF 2,500;
• C-type articles (Correction, Editorial): CHF 0.

Frontiers operates a fee-support program: authors at institutions partnered with Frontiers can receive full or partial APC support, and authors in countries classified by the World Bank as low or lower-middle income may be eligible for discounts. The journal's DOAJ record notes an average of about 14 weeks from submission to publication and confirms archiving in CLOCKSS and PubMed Central (secondary source; confirm current timelines on the publisher's site).

Peer review: single-anonymized model with an interactive review forum where authors and reviewers discuss revisions until the reviewers endorse a final version. Associate editors select reviewers, assess reports, and take acceptance decisions; the Field Chief Editor can intervene at any stage. Reviewer and handling-editor names and affiliations are published on each article.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Frontiers in Psychiatry open access?

Yes — it is a gold open-access journal. All articles are published under the CC BY license and are free to read, download, and reuse; authors retain copyright.

What is the article processing charge?

CHF 3,150 for A-type articles (e.g., Original Research, Systematic Reviews), CHF 2,500 for B-type articles (e.g., Mini Reviews, Perspectives, Brief Research Reports), and no charge for C-type articles (Corrections, Editorials) — per the official publishing-fees page. Fee support is available for authors at partner institutions and in lower-income countries.

What is the journal's impact factor?

The journal's own page displays an Impact Factor of 3.8 and a CiteScore of 6.3. For the authoritative, current figure, consult Clarivate's Journal Citation Reports.

Who is the Field Chief Editor?

Prof. Stefan Borgwardt of the University of Lübeck, Germany (verified on frontiersin.org, October 2026).

How does peer review work?

Single-anonymized peer review run through an interactive online forum: associate editors invite reviewers, authors and reviewers discuss revisions directly, and the associate editor takes the final acceptance decision. Editor and reviewer names appear on published articles.

What is the journal's ISSN?

1664-0640 (electronic; the journal is online-only).

When was the journal founded?

2010, per the publisher (its DOAJ record notes open-access publishing since 2009).

How long does publication take?

The journal's DOAJ record reports an average of about 14 weeks from submission to publication (secondary source).

Where is the journal indexed?

Scopus, Web of Science (SSCI, per the publisher), PubMed and PubMed Central, Embase, PsycINFO, DOAJ, EBSCO, ProQuest, Dimensions, and others — see the Key Facts table.

Sources and Research Note

This profile was researched in October 2026 from official and verifiable sources only. The mission, scope, editorial structure, impact figures, indexing list, licensing terms, and APC schedule are drawn directly from the publisher's official journal pages on frontiersin.org (about page, publishing-fees pages, and section pages). Founding-year and publication-timing details were cross-checked against the journal's DOAJ record and Researcher.Life. Third-party metric aggregators (Resurchify, Journalsearches) are cited only for figures not published by the journal itself and are labeled as estimates. All landmark-paper DOIs were verified as registered and resolvable via the Crossref API, and citation counts are from OpenAlex (October 2026). No metric, editor name, APC, acceptance rate, or date has been invented: where an official figure was unavailable, that is stated explicitly. Full source list: depth-frontiers-in-psychiatry-sources.txt.