Science Explorer Interactive view Map
Topic · Endocrine and Autonomic Systems

Circadian rhythm and melatonin

Circadian rhythm and melatonin is a research topic within Endocrine and Autonomic Systems. Science Explorer counts 46k research works in it since 1950. 20.1% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

This cluster of papers focuses on the molecular, genetic, and physiological aspects of mammalian circadian rhythms, including the role of the circadian clock, melatonin, retinal ganglion cells, metabolism, peripheral clocks, phototransduction, gene expression, oxidative stress, and the health effects of sleep disruption.

  • Circadian Clock
  • Melatonin
  • Retinal Ganglion Cells
  • Metabolism
  • Peripheral Clocks
  • Phototransduction
  • Gene Expression
  • Oxidative Stress
  • Sleep Disruption
  • Health Effects
Research works
46k
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
9.3k
per year above
Top-10% rate
20.1%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
+26%
the tick is no change

Which countries lead Circadian rhythm and melatonin research?

By volume, the United States and China publish the most (1.8k and 1.4k works in 2022–2025).

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 United States 1.8k works
  2. 2 China 1.4k works
  3. 3 Japan 383 works
  4. 4 Germany 317 works
  5. 5 India 294 works
  6. 6 United Kingdom 282 works
  7. 7 Russia 205 works
  8. 8 France 199 works
  9. 9 Spain 186 works
  10. 10 Brazil 184 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: 34.0%China: 26.7%Japan: 7.3%Germany: 6.1%6 others listed: 25.9%34%largest
United States1,773 · 34.0%China1,396 · 26.7%Japan383 · 7.3%Germany317 · 6.1%6 others listed1,351 · 25.9%

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

Which institutions lead Circadian rhythm and melatonin research?

By volume in 2022–2025, Harvard University publishes the most Circadian rhythm and melatonin research, followed by University of Florida and University of Pittsburgh.

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Harvard UniversityUnited States 43 works
  2. 2 University of FloridaUnited States 30 works
  3. 3 University of PittsburghUnited States 27 works
  4. 4 University of MichiganUnited States 26 works
  5. 5 Universidade de São PauloBrazil 25 works
  6. 6 Stanford UniversityUnited States 25 works
  7. 7 University of PennsylvaniaUnited States 24 works
  8. 8 University of Alabama at BirminghamUnited States 22 works
  9. 9 Centre National de la Recherche ScientifiqueFrance 22 works
  10. 10 InsermFrance 22 works

Where is Circadian rhythm and melatonin research done?

The largest centres of Circadian rhythm and melatonin research in 2022–2025 are Beijing (China), Shanghai (China), Tokyo (Japan) and Guangzhou (China). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Birmingham.

Largest cities, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Beijing China 215 works
  2. 2 Shanghai China 114 works
  3. 3 Tokyo Japan 103 works
  4. 4 Guangzhou China 99 works
  5. 5 Paris France 89 works
  6. 6 Seoul South Korea 73 works
  7. 7 New York United States 72 works
  8. 8 London United Kingdom 68 works
  9. 9 São Paulo Brazil 68 works
  10. 10 Moscow Russia 68 works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. BirminghamUS · 25.1 works6.2×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Circadian rhythm and melatonin than the world average.

See Circadian rhythm and melatonin on the map

Where is the best place to study Circadian rhythm and melatonin?

Among universities, judged by research, Harvard University, The University of Texas at San Antonio Health Science Center and University of Alabama at Birmingham 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 29.27%fractional works in this node (log) →share in the world top 10% →Harvard University: 43, 32.0%The University of Texas at San Antonio Health Science Center: 9, 43.7%University of Alabama at Birmingham: 22, 21.9%Monash University: 17, 28.8%Anhui Medical University: 17, 26.7%Karolinska Institutet: 11, 40.4%Soochow University: 21, 21.7%Comenius University Bratislava: 12, 18.9%China Agricultural University: 20, 28.2%University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School: 10, 30.4%The University of Te…Harvard UniversityMonash UniversityUniversity of Alabam…
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
1 Harvard UniversityUnited States 57.332.0%4.7×43 +10.2%
2 The University of Texas at San Antonio Health Science CenterUnited States 50.643.7%8.6×9 -11.2%
3 University of Alabama at BirminghamUnited States 50.021.9%6.5×22 +97.0%
4 Monash UniversityAustralia 49.828.8%2.8×17 +167.8%
5 Anhui Medical UniversityChina 48.526.7%8.2×17 +25.3%
6 Karolinska InstitutetSweden 48.040.4%3.5×11 +39.7%
7 Soochow UniversityChina 47.521.7%3.6×21 +218.7%
8 Comenius University BratislavaSlovakia 47.318.9%8.2×12 +95.2%
9 China Agricultural UniversityChina 45.528.2%5.0×20 +48.6%
10 University of Massachusetts Chan Medical SchoolUnited States 44.730.4%8.7×10 -0.7%

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 Circadian rhythm and melatonin research growing?

Output in 2018–2022 was 26% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Circadian rhythm and melatonin.

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.