Rockefeller scientists study the nervous system from many perspectives, from the isolation of molecules and cells mediating neural function and development, to the study of the cellular ensembles engaged in high level sensory processing, to the discovery of mechanistic links between the biology of the brain and particular behavioral states. In recent years, the university has added several new laboratories in the neurosciences, mirroring the explosive growth in the discipline as a whole.

Rockefeller neuroscience laboratories span the areas of molecular and cellular neurobiology, sensory neuroscience and the neurobiology of behavior. Topics of current investigation include, among many others: the control of gene expression in neurons; the formation and patterning of the embryonic vertebrate nervous system; circadian rhythms; olfaction; the effects of experience and hormones on brain plasticity; and the cortical mechanisms of visual perception.