Explanation of existing data The timeframe selected for this evaluation is the past decade, which spans from January 2013 to March 2024, comprising a decade and three months. Scopus and Web of Science (WOS) were the databases employed, as they are the most frequently employed for bibliometric analysis (Pranckutė, 2021). The review protocol was designed based on the type of study. The methodology and guidelines recommended by the Joanna Briggs Institute (Peters et al., 2020) as cited in Medina-Córdoba et al. (2023) were followed, as well as the PRISMA reporting guidelines "Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR)" (Tricco et al., 2018 cited by Medina-Córdoba et al. 2023). Data collection procedures Source identification for this study will be conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Criteria for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, which detail procedures for identifying papers for inclusion in systematic analyses of research reviews (Page et al., 2021). The review will focus on articles published in journals indexed in Scopus and Web of Science (WOS) in both English and Spanish. Conference papers, conference proceedings, books and book chapters will be excluded, since articles from peer-reviewed journals go through a more rigorous publication process and are considered more reliable in the academic field (Hallinger, 2020). Stopping rule The size of the articles will be controlled by the number of articles that the time frame chosen for this scoping review yields, which covers the last ten years (January 2013 to March 2024 - one decade and 3 months) in the databases that will be used, Scopus and Web of Science (WOS).

Statistical models The analysis plan for this study will be conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Criteria for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA), which detail the procedures for identifying documents for inclusion in systematic analyses of research reviews (Page et al., 2021). The following search equations will be used in Scopus and Web of Science (WOS) without imposing limitations by subject area or source title, the equations will be: • Equation 1 - Scopus: TITLE-ABS-KEY ("brain" AND "learn*" AND "instructional" ) AND PUBYEAR > 2012 AND PUBYEAR < 2025 AND ( LIMIT-TO ( DOCTYPE , "ar" ) ) - Web of Science: (WOS): ALL=(“Brain” AND “learn*” AND “instructional”) • Equation 2 - Scopus: TITLE-ABS-KEY ("BBL" OR "Brain Based Learning" OR "Brain Learn*" OR "Brain" AND learn* AND "instructional" AND (higher AND education) ) AND ( LIMIT-TO ( DOCTYPE , "ar" ) ) - Web of Science (WOS): ((((((ALL=(BBL)) OR ALL=(Brain based learning)) OR ALL=(Brain learn*)) OR ALL=(Brain)) AND ALL=(Learn*)) AND ALL=(instructional)) AND ALL=(Higher education)

Data exclusion The review will focus on articles published in journals indexed in Scopus and Web of Science (WOS) in both English and Spanish. Conference papers, conference proceedings, books and book chapters will be excluded, since articles from peer-reviewed journals go through a more rigorous publication process and are considered more reliable in the academic field (Hallinger, 2020). The review will focus on articles published in journals indexed in Scopus and Web of Science (WOS) in both English and Spanish. Conference papers, conference proceedings, books, and book chapters will be excluded, since articles from peer-reviewed journals go through a more rigorous publication process and are considered more reliable in the academic field (Hallinger, 2020). As mentioned in the previous section, there will be a bias control.

This study aims to analyze the evolution of brain-based learning and its connection to instructional design in global higher education, utilizing a bibliometric analysis of publications in the Scopus and Web of Science databases from January 2013 to March 2024. The examination of the texts included VOSviewer, Excel, and Visme software. The review recorded the development and geographical dispersion of the literature, while also delineating the ideological framework of BBL and instructional design in higher education.