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Sustainable neuroscience through open science

Nature Human Behaviour volume 10, pages 639–642 (2026) Cite this article

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Neuroscience is crucial for understanding human behaviour. Yet, its resource-intensive methods contribute to the climate crisis. We call on neuroscientists to align their research with ecological sustainability goals across the research cycle and propose three key steps: replace unfocused data collection, reduce excessive emissions and refine imprecise methods.

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Fig. 1: Unsustainable research practices in neuroscience.
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Acknowledgements

L.M.C.P. was supported by the Technische Universität Dresden (Maria Reiche Postdoctoral Fellowship) and the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin (College for Life Sciences Fellowship). H.H. was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation — project-ID 422744262 - TRR 289).

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Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Lara M. C. Puhlmann, Alina Koppold, Gordon B. Feld, Sebastian Ocklenburg, Helena Hartmann.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clinical Psychology and Behavioural Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany

    Lara M. C. Puhlmann

  2. Leibniz Institute for Resilience Research, Mainz, Germany

    Lara M. C. Puhlmann

  3. Biological Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany

    Alina Koppold & Tina B. Lonsdorf

  4. Department of Clinical Psychology, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany

    Gordon B. Feld & Çağatay Gürsoy

  5. Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany

    Gordon B. Feld & Çağatay Gürsoy

  6. Department of Addiction Behavior and Addiction Medicine, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany

    Gordon B. Feld & Çağatay Gürsoy

  7. Department of Psychology, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany

    Gordon B. Feld & Çağatay Gürsoy

  8. Institute for Systems Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany

    Tina B. Lonsdorf

  9. Department of Psychology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany

    Kirsten Hilger

  10. Department of Psychology, Vinzenz Pallotti University Vallendar, Vallendar, Germany

    Kirsten Hilger

  11. Department of Psychology, MSH Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Susanne Vogel, Alexander Lischke, Anett Müller-Alcazar & Sebastian Ocklenburg

  12. Institute for Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, MSH Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Susanne Vogel, Anett Müller-Alcazar & Sebastian Ocklenburg

  13. Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany

    Alexandros Kastrinogiannis

  14. Department of Developmental Psychology with Educational Psychology, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany

    Louisa Kulke

  15. Institute for Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, MSH Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Alexander Lischke

  16. Social Neuroscience, Medical Faculty, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany

    Julian Packheiser

  17. Research Center One Health Ruhr of the University Alliance Ruhr, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany

    Julian Packheiser

  18. Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Siegen, Siegen, Germany

    Matthias F. J. Sperl

  19. Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany

    Matthias F. J. Sperl

  20. Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Giessen, Giessen, Germany

    Matthias F. J. Sperl

  21. Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior, Universities of Marburg and Giessen (Research Campus Central Hessen), Marburg, Germany

    Matthias F. J. Sperl

  22. Division of Experimental Psychology and Neuropsychology, Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Yu-Fang Yang

  23. Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Institute for Experimental Psychology, Department for Biological Psychology, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany

    Laura Bechtold

  24. Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany

    Sebastian Ocklenburg

  25. Department of Neurology, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany

    Helena Hartmann

  26. Center for Translational Neuro- and Behavioral Sciences (C-TNBS), University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany

    Helena Hartmann

Authors
  1. Lara M. C. Puhlmann
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  2. Alina Koppold
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  3. Gordon B. Feld
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  4. Tina B. Lonsdorf
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  5. Kirsten Hilger
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  6. Susanne Vogel
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  7. Çağatay Gürsoy
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  8. Alexandros Kastrinogiannis
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  9. Louisa Kulke
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  10. Alexander Lischke
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  11. Anett Müller-Alcazar
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  12. Julian Packheiser
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  13. Matthias F. J. Sperl
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  14. Yu-Fang Yang
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  15. Laura Bechtold
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  16. Sebastian Ocklenburg
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  17. Helena Hartmann
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lara M. C. Puhlmann.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Puhlmann, L.M.C., Koppold, A., Feld, G.B. et al. Sustainable neuroscience through open science. Nat Hum Behav 10, 639–642 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-026-02426-3

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