How does the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine recognise brain research?

Numbers match the citations in the article. A working link isn't proof that a page supports a claim; check the quoted passage and date.

1. 1

   NEUROSCIENCE AND CENTENARY NOBEL PRIZES

   Acta Biophysica Sinica (Zhao)Published Jan 1, 2002Checked Oct 11, 2026

   “Neuroscience is one of the most important biological researches in this century. Nobel Prizes in medicine and physiology are awarded to the laureates who work most successfully. Now Nobel Prize is on her centenary birthday, nearly 20 prizes have been given to neuroscience with various contributions such as neuron, nervous activity, signals transferring, higher brain function, neurodevelopment, sense and perception. A perspective is foreseen on the tendency and new advancements of neuroscience in the future. Probably, China will make great progresses in neuroscience.”

2. 2

   [Centennial of the nobel prize for Golgi and Cajal--founding of modern neuroscience and irony of discovery].

   PubMed (Chu)Published Sep 1, 2006Checked Oct 11, 2026

   “He found that better results could be produced by staining more intensely and cutting thicker sections. He further observed that the Golgi stain worked best on non-myelinated axons. The search for brains containing non-myelinated axons led him to study birds and very young mammals, including embryos. Cajal obtained fascinating results by modifying the Golgi stain and by studying avian and young mammalian brains. From those studies, Cajal was able to infer that axons and dendrites ended freely and did not physically anastomose. Therefore, he strongly advocated the "neuron theory". Golgi seemed to be too headstrong and too conservative to relinquish his belief that neurons constitute a network which reacts as a whole. On the other hand, Cajal's hard work using the Golgi stain led to new understanding on the structure and function of the nervous system, and earned him "the founder of modern neuroscience". This centennial occasion may be further impressed by Cajal's comment on the shared Nobel Prize that "what a cruel irony of fate of pair, like Siamese twins united by the shoulders, scientific adversaries of such contrasting character!".”

3. 3

   Nobel Prize awarded for revealing inner workings of the brain

   BBC NewsPublished Oct 5, 2026Checked Oct 11, 2026

   “US psychiatrist and neurologist Karl Deisseroth and his German colleagues Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel have been awarded for their work.”

4. 4

   Pioneers of modern brain research-Cécile and Oskar Vogt and the Nobel Prize.

   Frontiers in neuroanatomy (Hansson et al.)Published Sep 22, 2025Checked Oct 11, 2026

   “Their legacy sheds light on the background to the decision from different perspectives. Despite multiple nominations, the couple never received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Drawing upon archival sources from the Nobel Forum and the Vogt Archive in Düsseldorf, we reconstruct the history of their candidacies, the reasons why they were proposed, and those behind the committee's repeated rejections. Their work on cyto- and myeloarchitectonics, the functional anatomy of the basal ganglia, and structure-function relationships in the cerebral cortex earned them international recognition. However, the Nobel Committee remained unconvinced, often citing issues of scientific priority, insufficient novelty, and the controversial nature of some of their claims. Despite their exclusion from the prize, the Vogts' research shaped the development of brain science across Europe and beyond, influencing later Nobel laureates and contributing to foundational concepts in neuroanatomy and -physiology. Their case invites reflection on the historical contingencies of scientific recognition and the shifting criteria for what counts as a "discovery" worthy of the Nobel Prize.”

5. 5

   Neurosciences and Nobel Prizes in Medicine and Physiology, A Brief Historical Sketch

   SVOA Neurology (Benítez)Published Dec 19, 2023Checked Oct 11, 2026

   “In order to stimulate and promote the development of humanity, Alfred Bernhard Nobel, in his will, established with his fortune a fund with which the best exponents in Literature, Physiology or Medicine, Physics, Chemistry and Peace would be rewarded. Over the years, awardees have come from various fields related to physiology and medicine. This review was motivated by the large number of Nobel Prize winners in Medicine and Physiology in the neuroscientific field. Despite there being numerous publications about this award, there are few that specifically deal with neuroscience, so it was decided to briefly describe it. the Nobel Prizes that were awarded to this branch of medicine, highlighting those that were considered most important by the authors and mentioning the others.”