Developmental Neuroscience papers

Pofolia’s corpus holds 69 papers from Developmental Neuroscience (2012–2026), each with a short summary. Below, the 20 most-cited, then the most recently added.

At a glance

• Most cited: Epigenetic Regulations of GABAergic Neurotransmission: Relevance for Neurological Disorders and Epigenetic Therapy (2016, 8,960 citations).
• The 20 papers listed have 25,886 citations between them.
• 18 of the 18 with a known journal quartile appeared in a Q1 journal.
• 11 have a free full text (open access).
• Most frequent journals: Science, Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology, Annual Review of Cell and Developmental Biology.
• Published between 2012 and 2019.

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”. How to read the signals

• Epigenetic Regulations of GABAergic Neurotransmission: Relevance for Neurological Disorders and Epigenetic Therapy

  Medical Epigenetics · 2016 · FWCI 557.50 · 8,960 citations

  This review highlights how epigenetic mechanisms like histone modifications, chromatin looping, and gene methylation regulate GABAergic neurotransmission, which is crucial for brain development and function.

  Go to source →

• Neuronal Activity Promotes Oligodendrogenesis and Adaptive Myelination in the Mammalian Brain

  Science · 2014 · Q1 · SJR 10.00 · FWCI 42.94 · 1,455 citations

  Neuronal activity directly stimulates the birth and maturation of myelin-producing cells (oligodendrocytes) and increases myelination in the brain. This activity-driven myelination improves motor function.

  Go to source →

• Oligodendrocyte heterogeneity in the mouse juvenile and adult central nervous system

  Science · 2016 · Q1 · SJR 10.00 · FWCI 48.38 · 1,202 citations

  Single-cell RNA sequencing of over 5000 cells revealed 13 distinct oligodendrocyte populations in the mouse CNS, challenging the view of them as a homogeneous cell type.

  Go to source →

• Neurogenesis in the Adult Hippocampus

  Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology · 2015 · Q1 · SJR 3.00 · 1,053 citations · Open access

  Adult hippocampal neurogenesis generates new excitatory granule cells in the dentate gyrus, a process crucial for higher cognitive functions like memory and affective behaviors.

  Go to source →

• Vascular and Neurogenic Rejuvenation of the Aging Mouse Brain by Young Systemic Factors

  Science · 2014 · Q1 · SJR 10.00 · FWCI 42.67 · 1,051 citations · Open access

  Young blood factors can rejuvenate the aging mouse brain by promoting vascular remodeling, increasing neurogenesis, and improving cognitive function.

  Go to source →

• Myelination of the Nervous System: Mechanisms and Functions

  Annual Review of Cell and Developmental Biology · 2014 · Q1 · SJR 7.00 · FWCI 24.91 · 1,009 citations · Open access

  Recent advances reveal the intricate mechanisms of myelin biogenesis, lifelong plasticity, and the crucial symbiotic relationship between myelinating glial cells and axons.

  Go to source →

• Glia as architects of central nervous system formation and function

  Science · 2018 · Q1 · SJR 10.00 · FWCI 27.79 · 1,000 citations

  Glia, once thought to be passive, actively orchestrate nearly all aspects of central nervous system (CNS) formation and function. Diverse glial cell types influence everything from neuron birth and migration to circuit assembly and synaptic communication.

  Go to source →

• Association Between a Single General Anesthesia Exposure Before Age 36 Months and Neurocognitive Outcomes in Later Childhood

  JAMA · 2016 · Q1 · SJR 5.00 · FWCI 70.87 · 951 citations

  A single exposure to general anesthesia before age 36 months in otherwise healthy children was not associated with significant differences in IQ or neurocognitive outcomes in later childhood compared to their unexposed siblings.

  Go to source →

• A Critical Period for Social Experience–Dependent Oligodendrocyte Maturation and Myelination

  Science · 2012 · Q1 · SJR 10.00 · FWCI 21.51 · 941 citations

  Social isolation during a specific post-weaning window in mice impairs prefrontal cortex myelination and cognitive function, with deficits persisting even after social reintroduction.

  Go to source →

• Oligodendrocytes: Myelination and Axonal Support

  Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology · 2015 · Q1 · SJR 3.00 · 877 citations · Open access

  Oligodendrocytes, the cells forming myelin in the central nervous system, are not just passive insulators but are metabolically active and actively support axonal integrity.

  Go to source →

• Modeling Transformations of Neurodevelopmental Sequences across Mammalian Species

  Journal of Neuroscience · 2013 · Q1 · SJR 1.00 · FWCI 27.74 · 867 citations · Open access

  A single model accurately predicts neurodevelopmental timing across 18 mammalian species, revealing that species' developmental rate correlates with adult brain size and identifying specific heterochronies like delayed corticogenesis in species with larger relative cortices.

  Go to source →

• Combined adult neurogenesis and BDNF mimic exercise effects on cognition in an Alzheimer’s mouse model

  Science · 2018 · Q1 · SJR 10.00 · FWCI 34.53 · 832 citations · Open access

  Researchers successfully mimicked exercise's cognitive benefits in an Alzheimer's mouse model by combining the stimulation of new neuron growth (neurogenesis) with increased levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Neither intervention alone was sufficient.

  Go to source →

• Hippocampal Neurogenesis Regulates Forgetting During Adulthood and Infancy

  Science · 2014 · Q1 · SJR 10.00 · FWCI 31.93 · 763 citations

  New neurons in the hippocampus actively cause forgetting of existing memories in adult mice, a process that can be reversed by reducing neurogenesis.

  Go to source →

• Neurodevelopmental outcome at 5 years of age after general anaesthesia or awake-regional anaesthesia in infancy (GAS): an international, multicentre, randomised, controlled equivalence trial

  The Lancet · 2019 · FWCI 45.78 · 734 citations

  Infants undergoing short general anesthesia (under 1 hour) in early infancy showed no difference in full-scale IQ at age 5 compared to those receiving awake-regional anesthesia.

  Go to source →

• Prolonged myelination in human neocortical evolution

  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2012 · Q1 · SJR 3.00 · FWCI 13.66 · 734 citations · Open access

  Human neocortical myelination extends significantly longer into development compared to chimpanzees, with maturation continuing beyond late adolescence.

  Go to source →

• Myelin in the Central Nervous System: Structure, Function, and Pathology

  Physiological Reviews · 2019 · Q1 · SJR 11.00 · FWCI 24.49 · 712 citations · Open access

  Myelin, previously thought to solely enable fast nerve conduction, is now understood to have expanded roles including metabolic support to neurons and regulation of ion homeostasis.

  Go to source →

• The glia/neuron ratio: How it varies uniformly across brain structures and species and what that means for brain physiology and evolution

  Glia · 2014 · Q1 · SJR 2.00 · FWCI 14.60 · 708 citations

  Contrary to popular belief, the glia/neuron ratio does not increase with brain size, nor do glia comprise 90% of human brain cells. Instead, this ratio uniformly varies with decreasing neuronal density, driven by increasing average neuronal cell size.

  Go to source →

• Self-Organization of Polarized Cerebellar Tissue in 3D Culture of Human Pluripotent Stem Cells

  Cell Reports · 2015 · Q1 · SJR 3.00 · FWCI 19.12 · 698 citations · Open access

  Human pluripotent stem cells spontaneously self-organize in 3D culture to form a polarized cerebellar structure, generating functional Purkinje cells and mimicking early embryonic cerebellar development.

  Go to source →

• Ketamine Pharmacology: An Update (Pharmacodynamics and Molecular Aspects, Recent Findings)

  CNS Neuroscience & Therapeutics · 2013 · Q1 · SJR 1.00 · FWCI 14.19 · 690 citations · Open access

  Ketamine, a long-used anesthetic and analgesic, exerts its primary effects through NMDA receptor antagonism, which is crucial for its dissociative anesthesia, antidepressant, and analgesic properties.

  Go to source →

• Neural progenitors, neurogenesis and the evolution of the neocortex

  Development · 2014 · Q1 · SJR 1.00 · FWCI 24.48 · 649 citations · Open access

  The evolutionary expansion of the neocortex, particularly in humans, is linked to interspecies differences in the biology of neural progenitor cells and their neurogenic divisions.

  Go to source →

Recently added

• A hypothesis-driven perspective on GLP-1R-β-catenin pathway crosstalk in astrocyte plasticity and endogenous neural repair

  Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy · 2026 · Q1 · SJR 2.00

  A hypothesis suggests that glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonists, like exendin-4, may act permissively to enable astrocyte plasticity and endogenous neural repair by interacting with the Wnt/β-catenin pathway, rather than directly driving cell fate changes.

  Go to source →

• ABCC9/SUR2 has a Complex Expression Pattern in Human Brain Gliovascular Unit Cells, Including Astrocytes

  Journal of Molecular Neuroscience · 2026 · Q2

  Human brain astrocytes, pericytes, smooth muscle cells, and endothelial cells express SUR2 transcripts, with astrocytes showing enrichment for thyroid hormone signaling and a specific ABCC9 variant (rs1914361) linked to increased SUR2 expression.

  Go to source →

• Behavioral outcomes after sevoflurane-based general anesthesia in preschool children: a prospective cohort study with perioperative hydrogen sulfide–related biomarker profiling

  Translational Psychiatry · 2026 · Q1 · SJR 2.00

  Preschool children exposed to sevoflurane anesthesia had modestly higher parent-reported behavioral problems, particularly internalizing symptoms, compared to unexposed peers (n=118 vs. 113). Lower postoperative hydrogen sulfide (H2S) levels correlated with worse behavioral scores.

  Go to source →

• Spatiotemporal development of sparse excitatory neuronal types within the deep mouse cortex

  iScience · 2026 · Q1 · SJR 1.00

  Single-cell spatial transcriptomics reveals distinct developmental trajectories for deep cortical neurons in the mouse subplate and claustrum, challenging the assumption of similar origins and maturation patterns.

  Go to source →

• Caries Experience in Individuals With Williams–Beuren Syndrome: An Exploratory Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

  International Dental Journal · 2026 · Q1 · SJR 1.00

  Individuals with Williams–Beuren syndrome (WBS) have a pooled caries experience of 48% (95% CI: 30%-65%), based on a meta-analysis of 7 case-series studies involving 158 individuals.

  Go to source →

• Effects of a three-month exercise programme on cognition, mood and neurogenesis: the NeuroFit randomised controlled trial

  npj Aging · 2026 · Q1 · SJR 3.00 · Open access

  A 3-month online exercise program in middle-aged adults (n=52) improved depressive symptoms by 1.18 points (p=0.011) and increased hippocampal progenitor cell proliferation in vitro by 23% (p=0.02), though it did not significantly improve pattern separation cognition.

  Go to source →

• Myelin Dynamics at the Axon–Oligodendrocyte Interface: Adaptive Conduction Homeostasis in Demyelination, Remyelination and White Matter Repair

  International Journal of Molecular Sciences · 2026 · Q1 · SJR 1.00

  Myelination is a dynamic, interactive process between oligodendrocytes and axons, not just a passive insulator, maintaining signal fidelity and velocity through coordinated molecular mechanisms.

  Go to source →

• Brain defence by the extracellular matrix protein Cochlin

  Communications Biology · 2026 · Q1 · SJR 1.00 · Open access

  The extracellular matrix protein Cochlin is secreted by brain barrier tissues and actively defends against bacterial infection by reducing bacterial load.

  Go to source →

Journals in this field

The journals that publish most of this field’s papers. Quartile (Q1–Q4), SJR and h-index are from SCImago Journal Rank; “in this field” is how many of the journal’s pooled papers belong here. What is a Q1 journal? · What is the h-index?

Every journal in Developmental Neuroscience (Q1–Q4) →

Other subfields in Neuroscience

• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Biological Psychiatry
• Behavioral Neuroscience
• Sensory Systems
• Endocrine and Autonomic Systems
• Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience
• Neurology (Neuroscience)

All subfields of Neuroscience →

← All fields