I like this version of a Chinese proverb which describes real research well: all things are hard at the start, hard in the middle, and hard at the end.

Some branches of neuroscience (and science in general) are unlikely to see real progress for a long time. This stagnation stems from an academic echo chamber that very effectively silences dissent. young researchers introducing new ideas are often marginalized or driven out before they can establish themselves. There must be quite a few of these people who left academia this way and are now working in industry. The current institutional framework simply won't fund or validate anyone bold enough to challenge entrenched ideas. It's a conformist paradise gated by tenure. BTW these stagnant areas tend to have dominant senior people who have never been wrong and shall remain "authorities" forever.