Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience Template
Get your Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience paper right the first time: a ready-made structure with the right abstract and citations, so editors see your science, not formatting slips.
4
How to Use the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience Template | A Step-by-Step Guide
Authored by Sumalatha Gangadhar | Published on 17 August, 2026
Submitting to Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience goes smoothly when your draft already matches the journal's own rules. Editors screen new manuscripts against the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience guide for authors before peer review, so formatting, structure, and required statements should be right on the first draft rather than repaired during upload. This template sets that structure up for you.
What is the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience Template?
It is a manuscript shell aligned to Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience. It covers front matter, the abstract the journal expects, a body organized to the journal's article types, and a reference list in the journal's required style. Confirm current scope and article types on the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience journal page before you draft.
What's actually in a J Cognitive Neurosci submission:
Prepare the title, authors, affiliations, and ORCID iDs. Write the abstract to the journal's rule and word limit, organize the body to the article type, and apply the required reference style from the first citation. Complete every declaration (ethics, competing interests, funding, data availability) the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience guide for authors lists, and cite figures and tables in order.
What separates a clean submission from one that gets kicked back:
The common failure modes are formatting or reference style that does not match the guide for authors, missing required statements, and an incomplete portal checklist. Clear all three against the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience guide for authors before you submit.
What does this Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience Template include?
The shell mirrors what editorial staff check first: article-type fit, the abstract rules, required declarations, and the journal's reference style. For more detail see the author resources. When your draft is ready, upload it through ScholarOne (Manuscript Central).
Steps to Use This Template with SciSpace Agent
- Click Start Writing on this page. The SciSpace Agent prompt screen opens with the template loaded.
- Use the loaded template, or upload a version your group already uses for J Cognitive Neurosci.
- Edit the prompt with your topic and article type, and note any requirement from the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience guide for authors.
- Run the prompt. The agent drafts into the correct structure and reference style.
- Use View Outputs to verify required statements and formatting are present.
- Export and submit through ScholarOne (Manuscript Central).
Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience Template Structure at a Glance
| Element | J Cognitive Neurosci requirement |
|---|---|
| Abstract | Unstructured abstract, written in complete sentences without subheadings, <251 words for Empirical, Methodological, and Preregistered Research Reports. The abstract should clearly state the relevance of the article to fields outside of the subdiscipline being reported. For Stage 1 Preregistered Research Reports, the abstract will describe the predicted pattern of results and theoretical implications; for Stage 2, it can replace mention of anticipated results with a sentence or two summarizing actual results. Reviews and Perspectives: no explicit abstract word limit stated in the guidelines |
| Main text | Empirical and Methodological papers: Introduction <651 words, Discussion <1501 words, no overall page limit for submitted manuscripts, limit of 7 figures. Results and Discussion can be combined. Reviews: typically between 5,000 and 12,000 words, limit of 7 figures. Perspectives: typically <5,000 words, no more than 3 figures, no more than 60 references |
| Declarations | Ethics approval/consent as applicable; competing interests; funding; data availability |
| Figures/tables | Publication-ready; cited in order |
| Supplemental | Upload separately when used |
| Keywords | Not specified in the official author guidelines |
| References | APA (American Psychological Association Publications Manual). All references must include a Crossref DOI in the format https://doi.org/10.5334/joc.98. The journal encourages (but does not require) authors to estimate gender citation balance indices (GCBIs) of their Reference section and include these metadata with their submission |
| Peer review | Double-blind (Double Anonymized). The official Peer-Review Taxonomy states: Identity transparency: Double Anonymized; Reviewer interacts with: Editor; Review information published: None |
| Submission | mc.manuscriptcentral.com/jocn |
Quick Tips for Using the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience Template
Read the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience guide for authors once before drafting and once before upload. Draft the abstract after results are stable. Set the reference style before adding citations. Keep a cover letter that states your contribution and fit to Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience in under a page.
Best Practices
Skim two or three recent J Cognitive Neurosci papers to calibrate depth and figure style. Make the novelty clear in the first two pages. Deposit data and code when the policy on the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience journal page requires it. Disclose any preprint or conference version with identifiers in the cover letter.
Before You Submit: Final Check
Do one focused pass against the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience guide for authors: scope, length, reference style, required declarations, and figure quality. Then submit through ScholarOne (Manuscript Central).
