The status of participation of non-MD researchers in the field of psychiatric neuroscience was examined based on the acceptance rates of Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (KAKENHI), one of the major research funds from the Japanese government. The acceptance rates for non-MD researchers were relatively constant over the past 15 years for the examined grant types. However, the acceptance rates for non-MD researchers have been halved as the grant budget was increased for senior researchers. Similar rates were observed in the field of neurological sciences, but nearly constant acceptance rates for each grant type were noted in the field of immunology. These results suggest that non-MD researchers who received a grant for young researchers were unable to advance their careers and possibly left the field of psychiatric neuroscience. The acceptance rates for female researchers were also investigated, and were found to have remained low across all research fields and grant types. Therefore, there is a structural problem beyond just differences in research fields.
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