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Field · Life Sciences

Neuroscience research

Neuroscience is a field of the Life Sciences. Science Explorer counts 2.2M research works in it since 1950. 18.9% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

In short: scientific study of the nervous system.

Research works
2.2M
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
416k
per year above
Top-10% rate
18.9%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Topics
62
Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
+16%
the tick is no change

What is Neuroscience research about, and what is growing?

By the world's output in 2019–23, its most used keywords are Neurological Disorders, Oxidative Stress, Depression, Functional Connectivity, Synaptic Plasticity, Microglia. Gaining share since 2009–13: Microglia, Neuroinflammation, Default Mode Network, Resting-State fMRI, Autism Spectrum Disorders. Losing share: GABAergic, Neuronal Circuits, Synaptic Plasticity, Prefrontal Cortex.

▲ gaining share of this field◆ holding its share▼ losing share

Size is the world's fractional works in 2019–23 in the topics tagged with each word; colour compares the word's share of this field with 2009–13. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Neurological Disorders51k◆ 0.98×5 topics
  2. Oxidative Stress36k▲ 1.21×5 topics
  3. Depression35k◆ 1.00×4 topics
  4. Functional Connectivity33k▲ 1.40×3 topics
  5. Synaptic Plasticity28k▼ 0.70×3 topics
  6. Microglia27k▲ 1.70×2 topics
  7. Neuroinflammation27k▲ 1.70×2 topics
  8. Brain Development26k◆ 1.05×3 topics
  9. Prefrontal Cortex23k▼ 0.72×3 topics
  10. Genetics23k◆ 1.14×2 topics
  11. Brain-Computer Interfaces23k▲ 1.51×1 topic
  12. EEG Analysis23k▲ 1.51×1 topic
  13. Neuronal Circuits23k▼ 0.66×2 topics
  14. Stress22k▼ 0.73×3 topics
  15. Neural Plasticity21k◆ 0.91×3 topics
  16. Neural Circuits21k▼ 0.74×3 topics
  17. Neurodegeneration20k▲ 1.25×4 topics
  18. Quality of Life20k◆ 1.12×2 topics
  19. Neural Mechanisms20k▼ 0.83×3 topics
  20. Ischemic Stroke20k▲ 1.45×2 topics
  21. Emotion Recognition20k▲ 1.28×2 topics
  22. Neuroscience20k◆ 1.06×4 topics
  23. Neuroanatomy19k▲ 1.34×4 topics
  24. Mitochondrial Dysfunction19k◆ 1.03×4 topics
  25. Neurodevelopmental Disorders18k▲ 1.36×3 topics
  26. Neural Processing18k▼ 0.76×2 topics
  27. Default Mode Network18k▲ 1.56×1 topic
  28. Resting-State fMRI18k▲ 1.56×1 topic
  29. Hearing Loss18k◆ 1.04×2 topics
  30. Olfactory System17k◆ 0.93×2 topics
  31. Hippocampus17k▼ 0.86×2 topics
  32. Neurobiology17k▼ 0.86×2 topics
  33. Cortical Networks17k◆ 0.88×1 topic
  34. Neuronal Oscillations17k◆ 0.88×1 topic
  35. Cognitive Control17k▼ 0.86×2 topics
  36. Memory16k◆ 0.95×2 topics
  37. Autism Spectrum Disorders16k▲ 1.55×1 topic
  38. Social Skills Interventions16k▲ 1.55×1 topic
  39. Retinal Ganglion Cells16k▲ 1.19×2 topics
  40. GABAergic15k▼ 0.64×1 topic

Which countries lead Neuroscience research?

On research quality in 2022–2025, the United States, China and the United Kingdom rank highest in Neuroscience. By volume, the United States and China publish the most (79k and 61k works in 2022–2025).

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 United States · #1 all time 19.2% top 10% · 79k works
  2. 2 China · #4 all time 22.8% top 10% · 61k works
  3. 3 United Kingdom · #2 all time 22.9% top 10% · 16k works
  4. 4 Germany · #3 all time 19.3% top 10% · 17k works
  5. 5 Italy · #8 all time 22.7% top 10% · 11k works
  6. 6 Canada · #5 all time 19.2% top 10% · 10k works
  7. 7 France · #6 all time 17.1% top 10% · 9.5k works
  8. 8 Australia · #10 all time 22.0% top 10% · 7.1k works
  9. 9 India · #16 all time 11.8% top 10% · 19k works
  10. 10 South Korea · #14 all time 18.4% top 10% · 7.6k works

The track on each row is that row’s top-10% rate. The ranking itself is the composite score, which the rate is only one part of.

Of 74 countries ranked in Neuroscience. Composite of field-normalised excellence (50%), output (30%) and citations (20%); the bracket is the all-time rank.

All countries ranked in Neuroscience

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 United States 79k works
  2. 2 China 61k works
  3. 3 India 19k works
  4. 4 Germany 17k works
  5. 5 United Kingdom 16k works
  6. 6 Japan 14k works
  7. 7 Italy 11k works
  8. 8 Canada 10k works
  9. 9 France 9.5k works
  10. 10 South Korea 7.6k works

How concentrated that is

The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.

United States: 32.2%China: 24.8%India: 8.0%Germany: 6.9%6 others listed: 28.0%32%largest
United States79k · 32.2%China61k · 24.8%India19k · 8.0%Germany17k · 6.9%6 others listed68k · 28.0%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

Which institutions lead Neuroscience research?

Harvard University (United States) ranks first in Neuroscience on research quality in 2022–2025, followed by Stanford University and University College London.

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Harvard University United States · Cambridge · #1 all time 29.0% top 10% · 1.3k works
  2. 2 Stanford University United States · Stanford · #3 all time 26.2% top 10% · 919 works
  3. 3 University College London United Kingdom · London · #6 all time 27.2% top 10% · 1.2k works
  4. 4 Howard Hughes Medical Institute United States · Chevy Chase · #2 all time 52.5% top 10% · 169 works
  5. 5 Yale University United States · New Haven · #4 all time 24.7% top 10% · 904 works
  6. 6 Washington University in St. Louis United States · St Louis · #10 all time 24.6% top 10% · 701 works
  7. 7 University of California, San Francisco United States · San Francisco · #5 all time 27.0% top 10% · 540 works
  8. 8 Chinese Academy of Sciences China · Beijing · #91 all time 30.5% top 10% · 660 works
  9. 9 University of California San Diego United States · San Diego · #8 all time 23.1% top 10% · 779 works
  10. 10 Johns Hopkins University United States · Baltimore · #12 all time 21.5% top 10% · 916 works

The track on each row is that row’s top-10% rate. The ranking itself is the composite score, which the rate is only one part of.

Of 1,168 institutions above the floor of 40 fractional works in Neuroscience.

Top 100 Neuroscience institutions

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Harvard University United States 1.3k works
  2. 2 University College London United Kingdom 1.2k works
  3. 3 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill United States 984 works
  4. 4 University of Toronto Canada 978 works
  5. 5 Stanford University United States 919 works
  6. 6 Johns Hopkins University United States 916 works
  7. 7 Yale University United States 905 works
  8. 8 Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique France 904 works
  9. 9 Shanghai Jiao Tong University China 794 works
  10. 10 University of Oxford United Kingdom 786 works

Who are the leading researchers in Neuroscience?

Among the most productive authors in Neuroscience, Perminder S. Sachdev, Philip B. Mitchell and М. А. Пирадов rank highest on the composite score.

  1. 1 Perminder S. Sachdev Australia · #56 worldwide 4.6k citations · 215 works
  2. 2 Philip B. Mitchell Australia · #134 worldwide 3.7k citations · 146 works
  3. 3 М. А. Пирадов Russia · #155 worldwide 2.9k citations · 122 works
  4. 4 Howard Gardner United States · #205 worldwide 3.7k citations · 123 works
  5. 5 John T. Cacioppo United States · #364 worldwide 3.7k citations · 119 works
  6. 6 Reisa A. Sperling United States · #416 worldwide 2.1k citations · 153 works
  7. 7 James A. Russell United States · #453 worldwide 5k citations · 104 works
  8. 8 Stephan Ripke United States · #629 worldwide 4k citations · 102 works
  9. 9 Edward T. Bullmore United Kingdom · #709 worldwide 2.6k citations · 165 works
  10. 10 Simon Baron‐Cohen United Kingdom · #719 worldwide 3.8k citations · 212 works

Re-ranked on the composite score from the 5,767 highest-output authors in Neuroscience. Identities come from OpenAlex author disambiguation, which occasionally merges or splits people.

Top 100 Neuroscience researchers

Where is Neuroscience research done?

The largest centres of Neuroscience research in 2022–2025 are Beijing (China), Shanghai (China), London (United Kingdom) and Tokyo (Japan). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Smorumnedre, Zwingenberg and Seal Beach.

Largest cities, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Beijing China 10k works
  2. 2 Shanghai China 5.4k works
  3. 3 London United Kingdom 4.8k works
  4. 4 Tokyo Japan 4.3k works
  5. 5 Paris France 3.9k works
  6. 6 New York United States 3.7k works
  7. 7 Seoul South Korea 3.6k works
  8. 8 Guangzhou China 3.5k works
  9. 9 Moscow Russia 3.1k works
  10. 10 Hangzhou China 2.8k works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. SmorumnedreDK · 27.7 works27×
  2. ZwingenbergDE · 87.5 works22×
  3. Seal BeachUS · 22.6 works18×
  4. AlicanteES · 48.3 works17×
  5. RoveretoIT · 35.6 works16×
  6. HeemstedeNL · 21.2 works15×
  7. KlecanyCZ · 61.3 works15×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Neuroscience than the world average.

See Neuroscience on the map

Neuroscience research by country

The best places for Neuroscience research inside each country, with that country's researchers and world standing.

Where is the best place to study Neuroscience?

Among universities, judged by research, Harvard University, University College London and University of Chinese Academy of Sciences score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.

0%20%40%mean 27.08%fractional works in this node (log) →share in the world top 10% →Harvard University: 1,254, 29.0%University College London: 1,158, 27.2%University of Chinese Academy of Sciences: 504, 27.4%University of Oxford: 786, 28.6%University of Macau: 160, 28.4%Stanford University: 919, 26.2%Yale University: 904, 24.7%Radboud University Nijmegen: 478, 26.8%King's College London: 568, 27.9%Karolinska Institutet: 439, 24.6%Harvard UniversityUniversity of OxfordUniversity of Chines…University College L…
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.

#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1Harvard University United States 50.429.0%3.0×1,254 +2.3%
2University College London United Kingdom 48.427.2%2.6×1,158 -0.5%
3University of Chinese Academy of Sciences China 45.227.4%0.9×504 +219.1%
4University of Oxford United Kingdom 44.128.6%1.9×786 +13.7%
5University of Macau Macau 43.628.4%1.5×160 +198.1%
6Stanford University United States 42.426.2%2.3×919 +5.5%
7Yale University United States 41.824.7%2.8×904 +0.2%
8Radboud University Nijmegen Netherlands 41.826.8%3.5×478 +2.1%
9King's College London United Kingdom 40.927.9%2.3×568 +10.9%
10Karolinska Institutet Sweden 40.824.6%3.0×439 -0.0%

Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.

Is Neuroscience research growing?

Output in 2018–2022 was 16% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Functional Brain Connectivity Studies, Autism Spectrum Disorder Research and Tryptophan and brain disorders.

19801990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Which topics inside it are moving

Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.

  1. Functional Brain Connectivity Studies+181%
  2. Autism Spectrum Disorder Research+170%
  3. Tryptophan and brain disorders+163%
  4. EEG and Brain-Computer Interfaces+129%
  5. Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms+108%
  6. Tactile and Sensory Interactions+94%
  7. Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior-5%
  8. Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research-6%
  9. Neuropeptides and Animal Physiology-23%
← shrinkingno changegrowing →

Growth in output from 2005–09 to 2015–19. Every topic is a page of its own.

What does Neuroscience include?

Neuroscience and Neuroph…146kNeuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research: 146k fractional worksNeural dynamics and brai…87kNeural dynamics and brain function: 87k fractional worksEEG and Brain-Computer Interfaces: 84k fractional worksNeuropeptides and Animal Physiology: 67k fractional worksStress Responses and Cor…64kStress Responses and Cortisol: 64k fractional worksNeuroscience of respiration and sleep: 62k fractional worksNeuroscience and Neural Engineering: 62k fractional worksPhotoreceptor and optogenetics research: 62k fractional worksNeurobiology and Insect Physiology Research: 62k fractional worksFunctional Brain Connectivity Studies: 61k fractional worksNeurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior: 60k fractional worksVisual perception and pr…58kVisual perception and processing mechanisms: 58k fractional works

Area is fractional works in that topic. Every name below is a page of its own.