Why two pioneers of brain research never received the Nobel Prize

A new article in Frontiers in Neuroanatomy examines the scientific legacy of Cécile and Oskar Vogt. Their joint work shaped modern brain research — yet despite numerous nominations, they never received the Nobel Prize.

Authors Nils Hansson, Heiner Fangerau, Fabio De Sio, Ursula Grell, and Katrin Amunts draw on archival sources from the Nobel Forum in Sweden and the Vogt Archive in Düsseldorf to trace why the research couple was repeatedly nominated over the decades but the Nobel Committee always decided otherwise. The article also reflects on how the Vogts’ work continues to influence modern neuroscience.

The contribution was created through collaboration between researchers from the C. and O. Vogt Institute for Brain Research, the Vogt Archive, and the Institute for the History, Theory, and Ethics of Medicine at the University Hospital Düsseldorf.

Original publication:
Nils Hansson, Heiner Fangerau, Fabio De Sio, Ursula Grell and Katrin Amunts (2025). Pioneers of modern brain research—Cécile and Oskar Vogt and the Nobel Prize. Front. Neuroanat. 19:1679993. doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fnana.2025.1679993