William D. Willis

29.8k total citations · 4 hit papers
353 papers, 22.7k citations indexed

About

William D. Willis is a scholar working on Physiology, Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience and Cognitive Neuroscience. According to data from OpenAlex, William D. Willis has authored 353 papers receiving a total of 22.7k indexed citations (citations by other indexed papers that have themselves been cited), including 214 papers in Physiology, 161 papers in Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience and 69 papers in Cognitive Neuroscience. Recurrent topics in William D. Willis's work include Pain Mechanisms and Treatments (205 papers), Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research (88 papers) and Ion channel regulation and function (45 papers). William D. Willis is often cited by papers focused on Pain Mechanisms and Treatments (205 papers), Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research (88 papers) and Ion channel regulation and function (45 papers). William D. Willis collaborates with scholars based in United States, Czechia and Germany. William D. Willis's co-authors include Karin N. Westlund, Qing Lin, Robert F. Schmidt, J. C. Eccles, Patrick M. Dougherty, Edward M. Eddy, Kathleen A. Sluka, Eugenia H. Goulding, Linda S. Sorkin and Jin Mo Chung and has published in prestigious journals such as Nature, Science and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

In The Last Decade

William D. Willis

349 papers receiving 21.7k citations

Hit Papers

align trajectories

What are hit papers?

Hit papers significantly outperform the citation benchmark for their cohort. A paper qualifies if it has ≥500 total citations, achieves ≥1.5× the top-1% citation threshold for papers in the same subfield and year (this is the minimum needed to enter the top 1%, not the average within it), or reaches the top citation threshold in at least one of its specific research topics.

Neuroanatomy of the Pain System and of the Pathways That Modulate Pain

1997 635 citations William D. Willis, Karin N. Westlund profile →
Pharmacological studies on presynaptic inhibition

1963 620 citations William D. Willis et al. The Journal of Physiology profile →
Neurogenic hyperalgesia: central neural correlates in responses of spinothalamic tract neurons

1991 507 citations Linda S. Sorkin, William D. Willis et al. profile →
Glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase-S, a sperm-specific glycolytic enzyme, is required for sperm motility and male fertility

2004 500 citations Eugenia H. Goulding, William D. Willis et al. profile →

Peers — A (Enhanced Table)

Peers by citation overlap · career bar shows stage (early→late) cites · hero ref

Name	h						Papers	Cites
William D. Willis United States	82	13.4k	8.8k	4.8k	3.9k	2.9k	353	22.7k
A. Claudio Cuello Canada	88	8.8k 0.7×	16.1k 1.8×	10.7k 2.2×	2.9k 0.7×	2.9k 1.0×	442	27.0k
Abba J. Kastin United States	83	6.9k 0.5×	12.0k 1.4×	9.1k 1.9×	2.4k 0.6×	1.0k 0.3×	663	31.4k
Patrick W. Mantyh United States	84	11.9k 0.9×	8.4k 1.0×	6.2k 1.3×	1.9k 0.5×	2.6k 0.9×	199	21.9k
Tamás L. Horváth United States	97	11.9k 0.9×	4.2k 0.5×	8.2k 1.7×	4.4k 1.1×	1.3k 0.4×	328	34.7k
Allan I. Basbaum United States	103	26.7k 2.0×	21.0k 2.4×	11.7k 2.4×	4.3k 1.1×	4.2k 1.5×	296	46.1k
Paul E. Sawchenko United States	88	5.6k 0.4×	8.1k 0.9×	6.2k 1.3×	2.7k 0.7×	876 0.3×	169	31.8k
Donald J. Reis United States	81	4.5k 0.3×	11.8k 1.4×	7.2k 1.5×	3.2k 0.8×	1.1k 0.4×	284	22.5k
Stephen B. McMahon United Kingdom	98	15.5k 1.2×	17.0k 1.9×	7.9k 1.6×	2.0k 0.5×	3.1k 1.1×	340	33.9k
Harry W.M. Steinbusch Netherlands	76	4.6k 0.3×	9.9k 1.1×	7.3k 1.5×	3.1k 0.8×	1.7k 0.6×	388	22.8k
Clifford B. Saper United States	122	9.1k 0.7×	16.1k 1.8×	6.4k 1.3×	25.8k 6.6×	2.3k 0.8×	304	55.5k

Countries citing papers authored by William D. Willis

Since Specialization

Citations

This map shows the geographic impact of William D. Willis's research. It shows the number of citations coming from papers published by authors working in each country. You can also color the map by specialization and compare the number of citations received by William D. Willis with the expected number of citations based on a country's size and research output (numbers larger than one mean the country cites William D. Willis more than expected).

Fields of papers citing papers by William D. Willis

Since Specialization

Physical SciencesHealth SciencesLife SciencesSocial Sciences

This network shows the impact of papers produced by William D. Willis. Nodes represent research fields, and links connect fields that are likely to share authors. Colored nodes show fields that tend to cite the papers produced by William D. Willis. The network helps show where William D. Willis may publish in the future.

Co-authorship network of co-authors of William D. Willis

This figure shows the co-authorship network connecting the top 25 collaborators of William D. Willis. A scholar is included among the top collaborators of William D. Willis based on the total number of citations received by their joint publications. Widths of edges represent the number of papers authors have co-authored together. Node borders signify the number of papers an author published with William D. Willis. William D. Willis is excluded from the visualization to improve readability, since they are connected to all nodes in the network.

All Works

Sort: Min cites: Since: Top N: Style:

20 of 20 papers shown

MacMillan, Denise K., William D. Willis, Mark J. Strynar, et al.. (2025). Non-Targeted Analysis (NTA) of Plasma and Liver from Sprague Dawley Rats Exposed to Perfluorohexanesulfonamide (PFHxSA), a Precursor to Perfluorohexane Sulfonic Acid (PFHxS). Toxics. 13(7). 523–523.

Ros, Vanina G. Da, Julieta A. Maldera, William D. Willis, et al.. (2008). Impaired sperm fertilizing ability in mice lacking Cysteine-RIch Secretory Protein 1 (CRISP1). Developmental Biology. 320(1). 12–18. 124 indexed citations

Willis, William D., et al.. (2007). Encyclopedia of pain. Springer eBooks. 73 indexed citations

Willis, William D. & Richard E. Coggeshall. (2003). Ascending sensory tracts and their descending control. 6 indexed citations

Paleček, Jiřı́, V. Palečková, & William D. Willis. (2003). Postsynaptic dorsal column neurons express NK1 receptors following colon inflammation. Neuroscience. 116(2). 565–572. 32 indexed citations

Willis, William D. & Richard E. Coggeshall. (2003). Primary afferent neurons and the spinal dorsal horn. 13 indexed citations

Fang, Li, Jing Wu, Qing Lin, & William D. Willis. (2003). Protein kinases regulate the phosphorylation of the GluR1 subunit of AMPA receptors of spinal cord in rats following noxious stimulation. Molecular Brain Research. 118(1-2). 160–165. 62 indexed citations

Willis, William D. & Karin N. Westlund. (2001). The role of the dorsal column pathway in visceral nociception. Current Pain and Headache Reports. 5(1). 20–26. 34 indexed citations

Nauta, Haring J. W., Vicki M. Soukup, Roderic H. Fabian, et al.. (2000). Punctate midline myelotomy for the relief of visceral cancer pain. Journal of Neurosurgery Spine. 92(2). 125–130. 84 indexed citations

10.

Al–Chaer, Elie D., et al.. (1996). Is there a pathway in the posterior funiculus that signals visceral pain?. Pain. 67(2). 291–305. 121 indexed citations

11.

Sluka, Kathleen A., William D. Willis, & Karin N. Westlund. (1995). The role of dorsal root reflexes in neurogenic inflammation. Pain Forum. 4(3). 141–149. 57 indexed citations

12.

Sluka, Kathleen A., Holger Jordan, William D. Willis, & Karin N. Westlund. (1994). Differential effects of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) and non-NMDA receptor antagonists on spinal release of amino acids after development of acute arthritis in rats. Brain Research. 664(1-2). 77–84. 45 indexed citations

13.

Westlund, Karin N., et al.. (1992). Neural changes in acute arthritis in monkeys. II. Increased glutamate immunoreactivity in the medial articular nerve. Brain Research Reviews. 17(1). 15–27. 60 indexed citations

14.

Carlton, Susan M., Karin N. Westlund, Dongxian Zhang, & William D. Willis. (1992). GABA‐immunoreactive terminals synapse on primate spinothalamic tract cells. The Journal of Comparative Neurology. 322(4). 528–537. 62 indexed citations

15.

Dougherty, Patrick M. & William D. Willis. (1990). Long-lasting enhancement of excitability of spinothalamic tract neurones following combined application of excitatory amino acids and substance P in anaesthetized macaques. The Journal of Physiology. 425. 11 indexed citations

16.

Zhang, Dongxian, Susan M. Carlton, Linda S. Sorkin, & William D. Willis. (1990). Collaterals of primate spinothalamic tract neurons to the periaqueductal gray. The Journal of Comparative Neurology. 296(2). 277–290. 38 indexed citations

17.

Willis, William D.. (1985). Effects of capsaicin applied to a peripheral nerve on the responses of primate spinothalamic tract cells. Brain. 2. 27–38. 1 indexed citations

18.

Jordan, Larry M. & William D. Willis. (1973). EFFECT OF para-METHOXYPHENYLETHYLAMINE ON POLYSYNAPTIC PATHWAYS AND ON INTERNEURONS IN THE CAT LUMBAR SPINAL CORD. Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. 185(3). 572–582. 2 indexed citations

19.

Fields, William S. & William D. Willis. (1970). The cerebellum in health and disease : Dallas Neurological Symposium. 3 indexed citations

20.

Willis, William D., et al.. (1966). Properties of interneurons in the ventral spinal cord. ARCHIVES ITALIENNES DE BIOLOGIE. 104(3). 354–386. 30 indexed citations

Rankless uses publication and citation data sourced from OpenAlex, an open and comprehensive bibliographic database. While OpenAlex provides broad and valuable coverage of the global research landscape, it—like all bibliographic datasets—has inherent limitations. These include incomplete records, variations in author disambiguation, differences in journal indexing, and delays in data updates. As a result, some metrics and network relationships displayed in Rankless may not fully capture the entirety of a scholar's output or impact.

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