Social Neuroscience

Top Research Topics at Social Neuroscience?

The journal facilitates discussions on Developmental psychology, Cognitive psychology, Neuroscience, Social psychology and Cognition. The research on Developmental psychology tackled can also make contributions to studies in the areas of Audiology, Electroencephalography, Social perception, Empathy and Neural correlates of consciousness. The studies in Cognitive psychology featured incorporate elements of Perception, Functional magnetic resonance imaging, Prefrontal cortex, Social cognition and Theory of mind.

The journal connects research in Functional magnetic resonance imaging with the related topic of Brain mapping. Mirror neuron and Amygdala are all topics related to Neuroscience research discussed.

• Developmental psychology (28.98%)
• Cognitive psychology (26.39%)
• Neuroscience (20.30%)

What are the most cited papers published in the journal?

• Levels of emotional awareness and autism: An fMRI study (364 citations)
• Face to face: Blocking facial mimicry can selectively impair recognition of emotional expressions (331 citations)
• Fetal testosterone and empathy: Evidence from the Empathy Quotient (EQ) and the “Reading the Mind in the Eyes” Test (286 citations)

Research areas of the most cited articles at Social Neuroscience:

The journal papers tackle a plethora of topics, such as Cognitive psychology, Developmental psychology, Neuroscience, Cognition and Social cognition. Social psychology, Prefrontal cortex, Facial expression, Theory of mind and Brain mapping are some topics wherein Cognitive psychology research discussed in the journal papers has an impact. The journal publications address concerns in Developmental psychology which are intertwined with other disciplines, such as Social relation, Perception, Social perception, Electroencephalography and Empathy.

What topics the last edition of the journal is best known for?

• Social psychology
• Cognition
• Neuroscience

The previous edition focused in particular on these issues:

Cognitive psychology, Social psychology, Developmental psychology, Neuroscience and Facial expression are among the topics commonly tackled in the journal. While work presented in the journal provided substantial information on Cognitive psychology, it also covered topics in Social information processing, Cognition, Feeling and Affect (psychology). Issues in Social psychology were discussed, taking into consideration concepts from other disciplines like Social cognition and Priming (psychology).

The Developmental psychology study presented in the journal encompasses related topics like Peer influence and also examines its connection to subjects such as Social media. The Prefrontal cortex and Ventromedial prefrontal cortex studies presented in it fall under the field of Neuroscience, but it also has connections to other fields such as Social regulation and Mediation. The studies on Facial expression discussed can also contribute to research in the domains of Schizophrenia (object-oriented programming), Stigma (botany) and Anger, Clinical psychology.

The most cited articles from the last journal are:

• Social interoception and social allostasis through touch: Legacy of the Somatovisceral Afference Model of Emotion (11 citations)
• The negativity bias, revisited: Evidence from neuroscience measures and an individual differences approach (9 citations)
• The neuroscience of unmet social needs. (7 citations)

Papers citation over time

A key indicator for each journal is its effectiveness in reaching other researchers with the papers published at that venue.

The chart below presents the interquartile range (first quartile 25%, median 50% and third quartile 75%) of the number of citations of articles over time.

Top authors and change over time

The top authors publishing in Social Neuroscience (based on the number of publications) are:

• Eugene O'Hare (17 papers) absent at the last edition,
• James P. Cleary (14 papers) absent at the last edition,
• Jacobus Dessing (13 papers) absent at the last edition,
• Elaine Murray (12 papers) absent at the last edition,
• J. Douglas Crawford (12 papers) absent at the last edition.

The overall trend for top authors publishing in this journal is outlined below. The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top authors.

Top affiliations and change over time

Only papers with recognized affiliations are considered

The top affiliations publishing in Social Neuroscience (based on the number of publications) are:

• Max Planck Society (53 papers) absent at the last edition,
• Yale University (34 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition, 4 less than at the previous edition,
• University of Chicago (27 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition,
• Harvard University (26 papers) absent at the last edition,
• University College London (22 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition, 1 less than at the previous edition.

The overall trend for top affiliations publishing in this journal is outlined below. The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top affiliations.

Publication chance based on affiliation

The publication chance index shows the ratio of articles published by the best research institutions in the journal edition to all articles published within that journal. The best research institutions were selected based on the largest number of articles published during all editions of the journal.

The chart below presents the percentage ratio of articles from top institutions (based on their ranking of total papers).Top affiliations were grouped by their rank into the following tiers: top 1-10, top 11-20, top 21-50, and top 51+. Only articles with a recognized affiliation are considered.

During the most recent 2021 edition, 2.04% of publications had an unrecognized affiliation. Out of the publications with recognized affiliations, 10.42% were posted by at least one author from the top 10 institutions publishing in the journal. Another 10.42% included authors affiliated with research institutions from the top 11-20 affiliations. Institutions from the 21-50 range included 18.75% of all publications and 60.42% were from other institutions.

Returning Authors Index

A very common phenomenon observed among researchers publishing scientific articles is the intentional selection of journals they have already attended in the past. In particular, it is worth analyzing the case when the authors participate in the same journal from year to year.

The Returning Authors Index presented below illustrates the ratio of authors who participated in both a given as well as the previous edition of the journal in relation to all participants in a given year.

Returning Institution Index

The graph below shows the Returning Institution Index, illustrating the ratio of institutions that participated in both a given and the previous edition of the conference in relation to all affiliations present in a given year.

The experience to innovation index

Our experience to innovation index was created to show a cross-section of the experience level of authors publishing in a journal. The index includes the authors publishing at the last edition of a journal, grouped by total number of publications throughout their academic career (P) and the total number of citations of these publications ever received (C).

The group intervals were selected empirically to best show the diversity of the authors' experiences, their labels were selected as a convenience, not as judgment. The authors were divided into the following groups:

• Novice - P < 5 or C < 25 (the number of publications less than 5 or the number of citations less than 25),
• Competent - P < 10 or C < 100 (the number of publications less than 10 or the number of citations less than 100),
• Experienced - P < 25 or C < 625 (the number of publications less than 25 or the number of citations less than 625),
• Master - P < 50 or C < 2500 (the number of publications less than 50 or the number of citations less than 2500),
• Star - P ≥ 50 and C ≥ 2500 (both the number of publications greater than 50 and the number of citations greater than 2500).

The chart below illustrates experience levels of first authors in cases of publications with multiple authors.

Applying Social Neuroscience Research to Real-world Professions

Many aspects of Social Neuroscience are directly applicable to real-world professions, such as Speech-Language Pathology. Students or professionals aiming to apply their understanding of this subject to the medical field, especially in assisting individuals with communicative disorders, might be interested in learning how to become a speech therapist in Minnesota. By incorporating cognitive psychology and developmental psychology in their practice, speech language pathologists can provide improved therapies for their patients. Both Cognitive and Developmental Psychology, which are high-interest subjects in Social Neuroscience, provide a cognitive framework for understanding how individuals develop and use language. Neuroimaging techniques, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) give us insights into the brain areas associated with language processing, thereby enabling speech therapists to apply this knowledge in their practice. Combining the theoretical knowledge of Neuroscience and its practical applicability paves a successful career path in this field.