World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!
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Best Scientists
2025

D-Index & Metrics

Best Scientists

D-Index
200
Citations
149963
World Ranking
299
National Ranking
198

Neuroscience

D-Index
201
Citations
150907
World Ranking
30
National Ranking
22

Medicine

D-Index
202
Citations
152007
World Ranking
170
National Ranking
115

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2025 - Research.com Best Scientists Award
  • 1991 - Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
  • 1988 - Metlife Foundation Award for Medical Research in Alzheimer's Disease

Overview

Carl W. Cotman was affiliated with the University of California, Irvine in the United States. Their research contributions spanned medicine and neuroscience, with a strong focus on neurology, cellular and molecular neuroscience, geriatrics and gerontology, molecular biology, and physiology.

The research topics covered a broad range of areas within neurodegenerative and cognitive disorders. These included frailty in older adults, dementia and cognitive impairment research, neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration mechanisms, neuroscience and neuropharmacology research, neurogenesis and neuroplasticity mechanisms, stroke rehabilitation and recovery, and mitochondrial function and pathology.

Throughout their career, Carl W. Cotman published extensively on topics related to brain aging, Alzheimer's disease, and related neurodegenerative conditions. Notable recent papers include:

  • "Emerging roles of oxidative stress in brain aging and Alzheimer's disease" (2021, Neurobiology of Aging)
  • "Gene expression and functional deficits underlie TREM2-knockout microglia responses in human models of Alzheimer's disease" (2020, Nature Communications)
  • "miR-181a negatively modulates synaptic plasticity in hippocampal cultures and its inhibition rescues memory deficits in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease" (2020, Aging Cell)
  • "Hippocampal synaptic failure is an early event in experimental parkinsonism with subtle cognitive deficit" (2023, Brain)
  • "Development of a novel cognitive composite outcome to assess therapeutic effects of exercise in the EXERT trial for adults with MCI: The ADAS-Cog-Exec" (2020, Alzheimer's & Dementia Translational Research & Clinical Interventions)

Carl W. Cotman collaborated frequently with several other researchers. Among the most frequent co-authors were Laura D. Baker, G. Aleph Prieto, Howard Feldman, Aladdin H. Shadyab, and Andrea Z. LaCroix.

Their work appeared predominantly in several key publication venues, including Alzheimer's & Dementia, Nature Communications, Neuropsychopharmacology, Brain, and Aging Cell.

During their career, Carl W. Cotman was recognized with awards such as the Metlife Foundation Award for Medical Research in Alzheimer's Disease in 1988 and was elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in 1991.

Best Publications

  • Common Structure of Soluble Amyloid Oligomers Implies Common Mechanism of Pathogenesis

    Rakez Kayed;Elizabeth Head;Jennifer L. Thompson;Theresa M. McIntire

  • Exercise: a behavioral intervention to enhance brain health and plasticity

    Carl W. Cotman;Nicole C. Berchtold

  • A controlled trial of selegiline, alpha-tocopherol, or both as treatment for Alzheimer's disease. The Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study

    Mary Sano;Christopher Ernesto;Ronald G. Thomas;Melville R. Klauber

  • Exercise builds brain health: key roles of growth factor cascades and inflammation

    Carl W. Cotman;Nicole C. Berchtold;Lori-Ann Christie

  • The Excitatory Amino Acid Receptors: Their Classes, Pharmacology, and Distinct Properties in the Function of the Central Nervous System

    Daniel T. Monaghan;Richard J. Bridges;Carl W. Cotman

  • Common variants at MS4A4/MS4A6E, CD2AP, CD33 and EPHA1 are associated with late-onset Alzheimer's disease.

    Adam C. Naj;Gyungah Jun;Gary W. Beecham;Li-San Wang

  • Neurodegeneration induced by beta-amyloid peptides in vitro: the role of peptide assembly state

    Christian J. Pike;Debra Burdick;Andrea J. Walencewicz;Charles G. Glabe

  • Distribution of N-methyl-D-aspartate-sensitive L-[3H]glutamate-binding sites in rat brain

    Daniel T Monaghan;C. W. Cotman

  • Apoptosis is induced by beta-amyloid in cultured central nervous system neurons

    Deryk T. Loo;Agata Copani;Christian J. Pike;Edward R. Whittemore

  • Exercise and brain neurotrophins

    S A Neeper;F Gómez-Pinilla;J Choi;C Cotman

  • Assembly and aggregation properties of synthetic Alzheimer's A4/beta amyloid peptide analogs.

    Debra Burdick;Brian Soreghan;Michael Kwon;Joseph Kosmoski

  • Physical activity increases mRNA for brain-derived neurotrophic factor and nerve growth factor in rat brain

    Shawne A. Neeper;Fernando Gómez-Pinilla;James Choi;Carl W. Cotman

  • A microfluidic culture platform for CNS axonal injury, regeneration and transport

    Anne M. Taylor;Mathew Blurton-Jones;Seog Woo Rhee;David H. Cribbs

  • Estrogen Replacement Therapy for Treatment of Mild to Moderate Alzheimer Disease: A Randomized Controlled Trial

    R. A. Mulnard;C. W. Cotman;C. Kawas;C. H. Van Dyck

  • Neurobiology of exercise.

    Rod K. Dishman;Hans Rudolf Berthoud;Frank W. Booth;Carl W. Cotman

  • In vitro aging of ß-amyloid protein causes peptide aggregation and neurotoxicity ☆

    Christian J. Pike;Andrea J. Walencewicz;Charles G. Glabe;Carl W. Cotman

  • Long-term potentiation in the hippocampus involves activation of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors

    Eric W. Harris;Alan H. Ganong;Carl W. Cotman

  • Voluntary Exercise Decreases Amyloid Load in a Transgenic Model of Alzheimer's Disease

    Paul A. Adlard;Victoria M. Perreau;Viorela Pop;Carl W. Cotman

  • Intraventricular kainic acid preferentially destroys hippocampal pyramidal cells.

    J. Victor Nadler;Bruce W. Perry;Carl W. Cotman

  • Anatomical organization of excitatory amino acid receptors and their pathways

    Carl W. Cotman;Daniel T. Monaghan;Ole P. Ottersen;Jon Storm-Mathisen

Frequent Co-Authors

Elizabeth Head
Elizabeth Head University of California, Irvine
Norton W. Milgram
Norton W. Milgram University of Toronto
David H. Cribbs
David H. Cribbs University of California, Irvine
Christian J. Pike
Christian J. Pike University of Southern California
Daniel T. Monaghan
Daniel T. Monaghan University of Nebraska Medical Center
Aileen J. Anderson
Aileen J. Anderson University of California, Irvine
Robert Balázs
Robert Balázs University of California, Irvine
J. Victor Nadler
J. Victor Nadler Duke University
Stephen W. Scheff
Stephen W. Scheff University of Kentucky
James L. McGaugh
James L. McGaugh University of California, Irvine

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Best Scientists Citing Carl W. Cotman