Key papers in Behavioral Neuroscience
Pofolia’s corpus holds 50 papers from the Behavioral Neuroscience subfield (2012–2025). The list below starts with the most cited.
Most cited
Ranked by citation count. Because citations accumulate over time, this list naturally leans towards work published a few years ago; for where the field is now, see “recently added”.
Review of the Psychometric Evidence of the Perceived Stress Scale
Asian Nursing Research · 2012 · Q1 · FWCI 6.07 · 2,312 citations
A review of 19 studies found the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) generally superior in psychometric properties compared to the 14-item version, while the 4-item scale performed worst.
Regulation of the Hypothalamic‐Pituitary‐Adrenocortical Stress Response
Comprehensive physiology · 2016 · Q1 · SJR 2.00 · 1,813 citations
The HPA axis is crucial for stress adaptation, orchestrating glucocorticoid release via distinct neural pathways for reactive versus anticipatory responses.
Chronic stress, glucocorticoid receptor resistance, inflammation, and disease risk
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2012 · Q1 · SJR 3.00 · FWCI 18.72 · 1,393 citations · Open access
Chronic stress leads to glucocorticoid receptor resistance (GCR), impairing the body's ability to control inflammation and increasing the risk of illness, as demonstrated in two viral challenge studies.
Allostatic Load and Its Impact on Health: A Systematic Review
Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics · 2020 · Q1 · SJR 3.00 · FWCI 14.04 · 1,185 citations
A systematic review of 267 studies found that allostatic load, the cumulative burden of chronic stress, is linked to worse physical and mental health outcomes.
Brain on stress: How the social environment gets under the skin
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2012 · Q1 · SJR 3.00 · FWCI 24.59 · 1,181 citations · Open access
Chronic stress, influenced by life events, genetics, and behaviors, leads to physiological changes and alters brain circuits, potentially causing disease.
The impact of stress on body function: a review
PubMed · 2017 · FWCI 14.12 · 1,090 citations
This review synthesizes how various stressors can trigger or worsen diseases by disrupting homeostasis and leading to pathophysiological complications.
More than a feeling: A unified view of stress measurement for population science
Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology · 2018 · Q1 · SJR 2.00 · FWCI 23.69 · 1,061 citations
This paper proposes a unified conceptual model and precise language to integrate epidemiological, affective, and psychophysiological perspectives on stress measurement for population science.
Neurobiological and Systemic Effects of Chronic Stress
Chronic Stress · 2017 · Q1 · SJR 1.00 · FWCI 20.57 · 1,000 citations · Open access
Chronic stress dysregulates brain circuitry, leading to maladaptive behavioral and physiological responses that contribute to pathophysiology. The brain's plasticity offers potential for therapies targeting these stress-induced imbalances.
The human stress response
Nature Reviews Endocrinology · 2019 · Q1 · SJR 9.00 · FWCI 28.68 · 986 citations
The human stress response, orchestrated by the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and synchronized with circadian rhythms, initially aids survival but chronic activation becomes maladaptive.
Rethinking stress: The role of mindsets in determining the stress response.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · 2013 · Q1 · SJR 3.00 · FWCI 8.66 · 966 citations
Believing stress is enhancing, rather than debilitating, is linked to a more moderate physiological stress response and a greater desire for feedback.
Stress and Health: A Review of Psychobiological Processes
Annual Review of Psychology · 2020 · Q1 · SJR 12.00 · FWCI 36.49 · 931 citations
This review synthesizes the extensive science linking stress to negative health outcomes, highlighting direct psychobiological pathways and indirect behavioral influences.
Early developmental emergence of human amygdala–prefrontal connectivity after maternal deprivation
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2013 · Q1 · SJR 3.00 · FWCI 17.43 · 896 citations · Open access
Children who experienced early maternal deprivation show an accelerated, 'mature' pattern of amygdala-prefrontal cortex connectivity, resembling adolescents rather than typical children.
A Comprehensive Overview on Stress Neurobiology: Basic Concepts and Clinical Implications
Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience · 2018 · Q1 · SJR 1.00 · FWCI 17.66 · 860 citations · Open access
This review synthesizes decades of research to explain how the brain's stress system detects threats and triggers physiological responses via the SAM and HPA axes.
Paternal Stress Exposure Alters Sperm MicroRNA Content and Reprograms Offspring HPA Stress Axis Regulation
Journal of Neuroscience · 2013 · Q1 · SJR 1.00 · FWCI 21.45 · 808 citations · Open access
Paternal chronic stress before breeding significantly reduces offspring HPA stress axis responsivity, mediated by altered sperm microRNA content and epigenetic reprogramming in offspring brain regions.
Inflammation: The Common Pathway of Stress-Related Diseases
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · 2017 · Q1 · FWCI 17.14 · 787 citations · Open access
Chronic stress, a hallmark of modernization, may lead to diseases like atherosclerosis, NAFLD, and depression through a common pathway of chronic inflammation.
Glucocorticoid regulation of inflammation and its functional correlates: from HPA axis to glucocorticoid receptor dysfunction
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · 2012 · Q1 · SJR 1.00 · FWCI 13.94 · 723 citations
Impaired glucocorticoid receptor (GR) function, leading to glucocorticoid resistance, is a key molecular mechanism underlying enhanced inflammation and susceptibility to autoimmune diseases.
Chronic Stress, Cortisol Dysfunction, and Pain: A Psychoneuroendocrine Rationale for Stress Management in Pain Rehabilitation
Physical Therapy · 2014 · Q1 · SJR 1.00 · FWCI 4.57 · 713 citations · Open access
Chronic stress can lead to cortisol dysfunction, widespread inflammation, and persistent pain, suggesting that physical therapists should screen for non-pain-related stress to improve patient outcomes.
Hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal and hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axes: sex differences in regulation of stress responsivity
Stress · 2017 · Q2 · FWCI 12.61 · 698 citations
Gonadal hormones, particularly estradiol in females, significantly influence the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, leading to sex differences in stress response. Female mice and rats exhibit a more robust HPA axis response compared to males, partly due to fluctuating gonadal steroid levels across the estrous cycle.
Revisiting the Stress Concept: Implications for Affective Disorders
Journal of Neuroscience · 2020 · Q1 · SJR 1.00 · FWCI 37.38 · 664 citations · Open access
Stress is reframed from an unusual threat response to an ongoing, adaptive process of environmental assessment and coping, with its neurobiology now broadly understood.
Understanding the broad influence of sex hormones and sex differences in the brain
Journal of Neuroscience Research · 2016 · Q2 · SJR 1.00 · FWCI 15.92 · 649 citations
Sex hormones profoundly impact brain structure and function in both males and females through genomic and non-genomic pathways, influencing diverse neural systems and behaviors.
Recently added
Neural Circuitry of Anxiety: Evidence from Structural and Functional Neuroimaging Studies
Psychopharmacology Bulletin · 2025 · Q3 · FWCI 2.41 · 199 citations
Neuroimaging studies, building on animal and clinical research, are converging to map the neural circuitry underlying normal anxiety and anxiety disorders.
The Role of Cortisol in Chronic Stress, Neurodegenerative Diseases, and Psychological Disorders
Cells · 2023 · Q1 · SJR 1.00 · FWCI 64.68 · 491 citations · Open access
Chronic stress and aging disrupt cortisol regulation, accelerating neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's and worsening psychological disorders such as depression.
Early life stress and development: potential mechanisms for adverse outcomes
Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders · 2020 · Q1 · SJR 1.00 · FWCI 14.50 · 483 citations · Open access
Early life stress persistently alters prefrontal-hypothalamic-amygdala and dopaminergic circuits, mediated by the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, leading to adverse developmental outcomes.
Stress and Health: A Review of Psychobiological Processes
Annual Review of Psychology · 2020 · Q1 · SJR 12.00 · FWCI 36.49 · 931 citations
This review synthesizes the extensive science linking stress to negative health outcomes, highlighting direct psychobiological pathways and indirect behavioral influences.
Allostatic Load and Its Impact on Health: A Systematic Review
Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics · 2020 · Q1 · SJR 3.00 · FWCI 14.04 · 1,185 citations
A systematic review of 267 studies found that allostatic load, the cumulative burden of chronic stress, is linked to worse physical and mental health outcomes.
Add this field to your daily feed
Pick your interests and new work in your area arrives every day, summarised. Full summaries live in the app.
Open the app