THE STATE OF NEUROSCIENCE: MAPPING RESEARCH TRENDS AND COMMUNITY PERSPECTIVES ACROSS A RAPIDLY EVOLVING FIELD

Neuroscience is one of the most interdisciplinary areas of research, spanning model systems from Caenorhabditis elegans to humans and tools ranging from microscopy to machine learning. To help orient researchers within this rapidly expanding field and to establish a baseline snapshot of its current state, The Transmitter launched the State of Neuroscience project. The aims were to characterize major research trends and assess how neuroscientists view the field’s priorities, training needs and future directions. The project combined large-scale literature analysis with surveys and expert interviews. We conducted a semantic analysis of nearly 350,000 abstracts published in leading neuroscience journals over the past five decades to map changes in research topics over time, developing an interactive visualization of these trends. We also analyzed citation metrics to identify the most highly cited neuroscience papers from the past 30 years. In parallel, we surveyed readers and contributors and partnered with a market research firm to conduct interviews with senior neuroscientists from leading programs worldwide. Results reveal substantial growth in disease-focused research, particularly in Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, depression and neuroinflammation-related topics, as well as a rapid rise in artificial intelligence and computational neuroscience. Survey and interview responses highlight shifting training needs, concerns about funding stability, and differing views on the balance between basic and translational research. Together, these findings provide a data-driven overview of neuroscience’s evolving landscape and offer a reference point for future assessment, discussion and strategic planning within the field.