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Subfield · Neuroscience

Cognitive Neuroscience research

Cognitive Neuroscience is a subfield of Neuroscience. Science Explorer counts 871k research works in it since 1950. 19.2% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

In short: scientific field concerned with cognition.

Research works
871k
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
167k
per year above
Top-10% rate
19.2%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Topics
28
Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
+18%
the tick is no change

What is Cognitive Neuroscience research about, and what is growing?

By the world's output in 2019–23, its most used keywords are Brain-Computer Interfaces, EEG Analysis, Neural Mechanisms, Emotion Recognition, Neuroanatomy, Functional Connectivity. Gaining share since 2009–13: Disgust, Moral Judgment, Functional Connectivity, Resting-State fMRI, Autism Spectrum Disorders. Losing share: Neural Processing, Visual Perception, Hippocampus, Navigation.

▲ 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. Brain-Computer Interfaces23k▲ 1.43×1 topic
  2. EEG Analysis23k▲ 1.43×1 topic
  3. Neural Mechanisms20k▼ 0.79×3 topics
  4. Emotion Recognition20k▲ 1.22×2 topics
  5. Neuroanatomy18k▲ 1.32×3 topics
  6. Functional Connectivity18k▲ 1.48×1 topic
  7. Resting-State fMRI18k▲ 1.48×1 topic
  8. Neurodevelopmental Disorders17k▲ 1.34×2 topics
  9. Prefrontal Cortex17k▼ 0.74×2 topics
  10. Cortical Networks17k▼ 0.84×1 topic
  11. Neuronal Oscillations17k▼ 0.84×1 topic
  12. Cognitive Control17k▼ 0.82×2 topics
  13. Memory16k◆ 0.90×2 topics
  14. Autism Spectrum Disorders16k▲ 1.47×1 topic
  15. Genetics16k▲ 1.47×1 topic
  16. Neuroscience13k▲ 1.36×3 topics
  17. Neural Basis11k▼ 0.77×3 topics
  18. Neuroimaging Studies11k▼ 0.78×2 topics
  19. Cross-modal Plasticity11k◆ 1.14×1 topic
  20. Tactile Perception11k◆ 1.14×1 topic
  21. Decision Making10k▼ 0.78×1 topic
  22. Executive Functions10k▼ 0.78×1 topic
  23. Cognitive Decline9,894◆ 1.02×1 topic
  24. Hearing Loss9,894◆ 1.02×1 topic
  25. Consolidation9,718◆ 1.13×1 topic
  26. Sleep9,718◆ 1.13×1 topic
  27. Emotional Responses8,898◆ 0.98×2 topics
  28. Auditory Cortex8,441◆ 0.92×2 topics
  29. Disgust8,288▲ 1.49×1 topic
  30. Moral Judgment8,288▲ 1.49×1 topic
  31. Neural Correlates7,386◆ 1.06×3 topics
  32. Neural Processing7,338▼ 0.48×1 topic
  33. Visual Perception7,338▼ 0.48×1 topic
  34. Hippocampus6,410▼ 0.69×1 topic
  35. Navigation6,410▼ 0.69×1 topic
  36. Language Processing6,159◆ 0.89×1 topic
  37. Semantic Memory6,159◆ 0.89×1 topic
  38. Music Perception5,934◆ 0.88×1 topic
  39. Temporal Processing5,934◆ 0.88×1 topic
  40. Social Cognition5,830▼ 0.82×2 topics

Which countries lead Cognitive Neuroscience research?

On research quality in 2022–2025, the United States, China and the United Kingdom rank highest in Cognitive Neuroscience. By volume, the United States and China publish the most (37k and 22k works in 2022–2025).

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 United States · #1 all time 19.1% top 10% · 37k works
  2. 2 China · #5 all time 21.8% top 10% · 22k works
  3. 3 United Kingdom · #2 all time 23.2% top 10% · 9.3k works
  4. 4 Germany · #3 all time 19.1% top 10% · 8.9k works
  5. 5 Canada · #4 all time 18.6% top 10% · 5.6k works
  6. 6 Australia · #8 all time 23.0% top 10% · 3.9k works
  7. 7 Italy · #9 all time 22.8% top 10% · 5.3k works
  8. 8 India · #13 all time 12.6% top 10% · 7.3k works
  9. 9 France · #6 all time 17.1% top 10% · 4.8k works
  10. 10 Netherlands · #7 all time 24.0% top 10% · 3.1k 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 57 countries ranked in Cognitive Neuroscience. Composite of field-normalised excellence (50%), output (30%) and citations (20%); the bracket is the all-time rank.

All countries ranked in Cognitive Neuroscience

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 United States 37k works
  2. 2 China 22k works
  3. 3 United Kingdom 9.3k works
  4. 4 Germany 8.9k works
  5. 5 India 7.3k works
  6. 6 Japan 6.1k works
  7. 7 Canada 5.6k works
  8. 8 Italy 5.3k works
  9. 9 France 4.8k works
  10. 10 Australia 3.9k 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: 33.6%China: 19.9%United Kingdom: 8.4%Germany: 8.1%6 others listed: 30.0%34%largest
United States37k · 33.6%China22k · 19.9%United Kingdom9,285 · 8.4%Germany8,934 · 8.1%6 others listed33k · 30.0%

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

Which institutions lead Cognitive Neuroscience research?

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

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 University College London United Kingdom · London · #2 all time 29.7% top 10% · 633 works
  2. 2 Harvard University United States · Cambridge · #1 all time 27.3% top 10% · 564 works
  3. 3 Stanford University United States · Stanford · #3 all time 26.9% top 10% · 458 works
  4. 4 University of Oxford United Kingdom · Oxford · #4 all time 27.0% top 10% · 493 works
  5. 5 New York University United States · New York · #9 all time 26.9% top 10% · 469 works
  6. 6 Yale University United States · New Haven · #5 all time 25.0% top 10% · 476 works
  7. 7 Columbia University United States · New York · #14 all time 27.0% top 10% · 348 works
  8. 8 University of Cambridge United Kingdom · Cambridge · #10 all time 26.7% top 10% · 395 works
  9. 9 University of California, Los Angeles United States · Los Angeles · #12 all time 25.7% top 10% · 349 works
  10. 10 King's College London United Kingdom · London · #25 all time 28.9% top 10% · 301 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 530 institutions above the floor of 40 fractional works in Cognitive Neuroscience.

Top 100 Cognitive Neuroscience institutions

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 University College London United Kingdom 633 works
  2. 2 Harvard University United States 564 works
  3. 3 University of Toronto Canada 538 works
  4. 4 University of Oxford United Kingdom 493 works
  5. 5 Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique France 478 works
  6. 6 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill United States 477 works
  7. 7 Yale University United States 476 works
  8. 8 New York University United States 469 works
  9. 9 Stanford University United States 458 works
  10. 10 Johns Hopkins University United States 443 works

Who are the leading researchers in Cognitive Neuroscience?

Among the most productive authors in Cognitive Neuroscience, Howard Gardner, Alan Yuille and John T. Cacioppo rank highest on the composite score.

  1. 1 Howard Gardner United States · #205 worldwide 3.7k citations · 123 works
  2. 2 Alan Yuille United States · #243 worldwide 8.4k citations · 313 works
  3. 3 John T. Cacioppo United States · #364 worldwide 3.7k citations · 119 works
  4. 4 Reisa A. Sperling United States · #416 worldwide 2.1k citations · 153 works
  5. 5 Stephen M. Smith United Kingdom · #444 worldwide 3.5k citations · 106 works
  6. 6 James A. Russell United States · #453 worldwide 5k citations · 104 works
  7. 7 Edward T. Bullmore United Kingdom · #709 worldwide 2.6k citations · 165 works
  8. 8 Simon Baron‐Cohen United Kingdom · #719 worldwide 3.8k citations · 212 works
  9. 9 John C. Morris United States · #720 worldwide 5.1k citations · 361 works
  10. 10 Paul M. Matthews United Kingdom · #744 worldwide 2.2k citations · 118 works

Re-ranked on the composite score from the 5,542 highest-output authors in Cognitive Neuroscience. Identities come from OpenAlex author disambiguation, which occasionally merges or splits people.

Top 100 Cognitive Neuroscience researchers

Where is Cognitive Neuroscience research done?

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

Largest cities, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Beijing China 4.4k works
  2. 2 London United Kingdom 2.6k works
  3. 3 Shanghai China 2.1k works
  4. 4 Tokyo Japan 2.1k works
  5. 5 Paris France 1.8k works
  6. 6 New York United States 1.8k works
  7. 7 Seoul South Korea 1.5k works
  8. 8 Toronto Canada 1.4k works
  9. 9 Boston United States 1.3k works
  10. 10 Guangzhou China 1.3k works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. SmorumnedreDK · 22.8 works50×
  2. Seal BeachUS · 22.5 works40×
  3. ZwingenbergDE · 58.4 works33×
  4. RoveretoIT · 28.1 works27×
  5. San FernandoUS · 90.2 works27×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

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

See Cognitive Neuroscience on the map

Cognitive Neuroscience research by country

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

Where is the best place to study Cognitive Neuroscience?

Among universities, judged by research, Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, University College London and Radboud University Nijmegen 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 28.44%fractional works in this node (log) →share in the world top 10% →Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology: 74, 34.7%University College London: 633, 29.7%Radboud University Nijmegen: 341, 27.4%Harvard University: 564, 27.3%University of Oxford: 493, 27.0%Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam: 278, 26.2%New York University: 469, 26.9%Nanyang Technological University: 188, 29.6%King's College London: 301, 28.9%University of Cambridge: 395, 26.7%Center for Excellenc…University College L…Radboud University N…Harvard University
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
1Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology China 64.134.7%24.8×74 —
2University College London United Kingdom 60.429.7%3.1×633 -1.5%
3Radboud University Nijmegen Netherlands 58.927.4%5.5×341 +6.6%
4Harvard University United States 55.427.3%3.0×564 -5.0%
5University of Oxford United Kingdom 54.727.0%2.6×493 +15.6%
6Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Netherlands 54.126.2%4.8×278 +9.2%
7New York University United States 53.026.9%4.0×469 -14.8%
8Nanyang Technological University Singapore 51.829.6%1.6×188 +74.8%
9King's College London United Kingdom 51.728.9%2.7×301 +16.0%
10University of Cambridge United Kingdom 51.426.7%2.5×395 +6.6%

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 Cognitive Neuroscience research growing?

Output in 2018–2022 was 18% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Functional Brain Connectivity Studies, Autism Spectrum Disorder Research and Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment.

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. Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment+161%
  4. Neuroethics, Human Enhancement, Biomedical Innovations+147%
  5. EEG and Brain-Computer Interfaces+129%
  6. Aesthetic Perception and Analysis+124%
  7. Cognitive Science and Education Research-43%
← shrinkingno changegrowing →

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

What does Cognitive Neuroscience include?

Neural dynamics and brai…87kNeural dynamics and brain function: 87k fractional worksEEG and Brain-Computer I…84kEEG and Brain-Computer Interfaces: 84k fractional worksFunctional Brain Connectivity Studies: 61k fractional worksVisual perception and processing mechanisms: 58k fractional worksAutism Spectrum Disorder Research: 57k fractional worksNeural and Behavioral Psychology Studies: 51k fractional worksHearing Loss and Rehabilitation: 50k fractional worksSleep and Wakefulness Research: 45k fractional worksMemory and Neural Mechanisms: 44k fractional worksTactile and Sensory Interactions: 43k fractional worksNeurobiology of Language and Bilingualism: 32k fractional worksNeuroscience and Music Perception: 29k fractional works

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