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Updated: Jun 6, 2026

Perspectives on Neuroscience
Published on: July 31, 2007
A bibliometric analysis of Neuropsychology's published corpus (1987-2024): How has the science evolved, and does
Steven Paul Woods1, Ryan Van Patten2, Zachary J Kunicki3
1Department of Psychology, University of Houston.
Objective:
The objective of the study was to provide an in-depth bibliographic analysis of Neuropsychology's published corpus as a window into the scientific interests, approaches, and priorities of the field of neuropsychology. The primary aims were to examine the ways in which Neuropsychology's published content (a) has changed over time and (b) influences citation rates.
Method:
A total of 2,403 abstracts published in Neuropsychology from 1987 to 2024 were coded according to article type, study population, design elements, methodology, ability domains, and miscellaneous topics (e.g., digital technology, everyday functioning). A university librarian provided 2024 citation data from Scopus for the 2,209 articles published during the years 1987 to 2021.
Results:
Over the past 37 years, Neuropsychology has experienced a moderate increase in studies that are empirical/data-driven, employ longitudinal designs, integrate biological markers and survey/questionnaire methods, and examine executive functions, culture/social determinants of health, and everyday functioning. Studies that use true experimental designs and focus on lower order domains (e.g., sensory/perceptual), visuospatial function, and memory peaked in the mid-1990s and are associated with lower citation rates in the modern era. On the other hand, review articles, studies with longitudinal designs, and articles that examined culture/social determinants of health and everyday functioning had higher citation rates.
Conclusions:
Findings suggest a temporal shift in the field's published content toward more empirically driven, functionally relevant, and contextually informed research. Future bibliographic work is needed to understand how these historical publishing trends align with related disciplines (e.g., behavioral neurology) and to identify the core drivers of citation patterns in neuropsychology. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).
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