2026 Niels Christian Rattenborg: Neuroscience Researcher – H-Index, Publications & Awards

Discipline name	D-Index	World Ranking	Current World Ranking	National Ranking	Current National Ranking	Publications	Citations
Neuroscience	39	8333	7698	706	671	111	6073

Discipline name

D-Index

World Ranking

Current World Ranking

National Ranking

Current National Ranking

Publications

Citations

Neuroscience

8333

7698

706

671

111

6073

Overview

Niels Christian Rattenborg is affiliated with the Max Planck Society in Germany. Their research primarily spans the fields of neuroscience and environmental science, with a focus on topics related to sleep and circadian rhythms as well as avian ecology.

The scientist's main fields of study include:

Neuroscience
Environmental Science

Subfields of particular interest are:

Cognitive Neuroscience
Ecology
Endocrine and Autonomic Systems
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience

The major topics of Niels Christian Rattenborg's research cover:

Sleep and Wakefulness Research
Circadian rhythm and melatonin
Avian ecology and behavior
Animal Behavior and Reproduction
Marine animal studies overview
Neurobiology and Insect Physiology Research
Animal Vocal Communication and Behavior

Frequent collaborators include:

Gianina Ungurean
Sjoerd J. van Hasselt
Peter Meerlo
Paul-Antoine Libourel
Alexei L. Vyssotski

Significant venues in which Niels Christian Rattenborg publishes frequently are:

Current Biology
SLEEP
Science
European Journal of Neuroscience
Sleep Medicine

Recent papers authored or co-authored by Rattenborg include:

"What Is REM Sleep?" (2020), Current Biology
"The evolution and diversification of sleep" (2022), Trends in Ecology & Evolution
"Wide-spread brain activation and reduced CSF flow during avian REM sleep" (2023), Nature Communications
"Sleep Time in the European Starling Is Strongly Affected by Night Length and Moon Phase" (2020), Current Biology
"Nesting chinstrap penguins accrue large quantities of sleep through seconds-long microsleeps" (2023), Science

Best Publications

Behavioral, neurophysiological and evolutionary perspectives on unihemispheric sleep

Niels Christian Rattenborg;Charles J. Amlaner;Steven L. Lima

592
Citations
Sleeping under the risk of predation

Steven L. Lima;Niels Christian Rattenborg;John A. Lesku;Charles J. Amlaner

382
Citations
Evidence that birds sleep in mid-flight

Niels Christian Rattenborg;Bryson Voirin;Bryson Voirin;Sebastian M. Cruz;Ryan K. Tisdale

338
Citations
Adaptive sleep loss in polygynous pectoral sandpipers

John A. Lesku;Niels Christian Rattenborg;Mihai Valcu;Alexei L. Vyssotski

276
Citations
Migratory Sleeplessness in the White-Crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia Leucophrys Gambelii)

Niels C Rattenborg;Bruce H Mandt;William H Obermeyer;Peter J Winsauer

254
Citations
Half-awake to the risk of predation

Niels Christian Rattenborg;Steven L. Lima;Charles J. Amlaner

253
Citations
Sleeping outside the box: electroencephalographic measures of sleep in sloths inhabiting a rainforest

Niels Christian Rattenborg;Bryson Voirin;Alexei L. Vyssotski;Roland W. Kays

171
Citations
Sleep research goes wild: New methods and approaches to investigate the ecology, evolution and functions of sleep

Niels Christian Rattenborg;Horacio O. de la Iglesia;Bart Kempenaers;John A. Lesku

166
Citations
Facultative control of avian unihemispheric sleep under the risk of predation.

Niels Christian Rattenborg;Steven L. Lima;Charles J. Amlaner

158
Citations
Avian sleep homeostasis: Convergent evolution of complex brains, cognition and sleep functions in mammals and birds

Niels C. Rattenborg;Dolores Martinez-Gonzalez;John A. Lesku

143
Citations
What Is REM Sleep

Mark S. Blumberg;John A. Lesku;Paul-Antoine Libourel;Markus H. Schmidt

142
Citations
Galapagos Islands : Marine iguanas die from trace oil pollution

Martin Wikelski;Vanessa Wong;Brett Chevalier;Niels Rattenborg

131
Citations
Do birds sleep in flight

Niels Christian Rattenborg

126
Citations
Local sleep homeostasis in the avian brain: convergence of sleep function in mammals and birds?

John A. Lesku;Alexei L. Vyssotski;Dolores Martinez-Gonzalez;Christiane Wilzeck;Christiane Wilzeck

125
Citations
The effect of an external transmitter on the drag coefficient of a bird’s body, and hence on migration range, and energy reserves after migration

C. J. Pennycuick;Peter L. F. Fast;Ninon Ballerstädt;Niels Rattenborg

123
Citations
Ostriches sleep like platypuses

John A. Lesku;Leith C. R. Meyer;Andrea Fuller;Shane K. Maloney;Shane K. Maloney

121
Citations
Hippocampal memory consolidation during sleep: a comparison of mammals and birds.

Niels C. Rattenborg;Dolores Martinez-Gonzalez;Timothy C. Roth;Vladimir V. Pravosudov

116
Citations
Increased EEG spectral power density during sleep following short-term sleep deprivation in pigeons (Columba livia): evidence for avian sleep homeostasis.

Dolores Martinez-Gonzalez;John A. Lesku;Niels C. Rattenborg

114
Citations
Phylogenetics and the correlates of mammalian sleep: A reappraisal

John A. Lesku;Timothy C. Roth;Niels Christian Rattenborg;Charles J. Amlaner

110
Citations
Sleep ecophysiology: Integrating neuroscience and ecology

Anne E. Aulsebrook;Therésa M. Jones;Niels Christian Rattenborg;Timothy C. Roth Ii

108
Citations
electroencephalographic measures of sleep in sloths inhabiting a rainforest

Niels C. Rattenborg;Bryson Voirin;Alexei L. Vyssotski;Roland W. Kays

1
Citations