Li Rongrong, Hu Hantong, Luo Ning, Fang Jianqiao
Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
The Third Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Front Neurol. 2022 Dec 21;13:1045763. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2022.1045763. eCollection 2022.
As a promising neuromodulation technique, vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) has been utilized to treat diverse diseases and the number of VNS studies has grown prosperously. Nonetheless, publication trends and research hotspots in this field remain unknown. This study aimed to perform a bibliometric analysis to systematically identify publication trends and research hotspots in VNS research within a 20-year panorama.
The Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) database was retrieved to screen eligible VNS-related publications from 2002 to 2021. The online analytic tool of the WoSCC database was used to analyze various bibliometric parameters, such as the number of annual publications, the output of countries/regions, journals, total citations, citations per publication, and the Hirsch index. Bibliometrics (http://bibliometric.com/) and CiteSpace (version 5.6.R3) were used to identify research trends and hotspots.
A total of 7,283 publications were included for analysis. The annual number of publications increased stably but it increased significantly in recent years. The top five prolific countries were the United States, China, Germany, England, and France. The top five productive institutions were the , and the . Notably, there was a geographical imbalance in countries and institutions. In addition, , and were the top three journals with the largest number of VNS publications. Michael P Kilgard was the most prolific author. Moreover, evolving research hotspots mainly included the effectiveness and mechanism of VNS on epilepsy, the role of VNS as an anti-inflammatory regulator, the application of VNS for psychiatric disorders, and the neuromodulation effect of VNS in headache management.
This study has revealed the overall publication trends and evolving research trends at a global level over a 20-year panorama. The potential collaborators, institutions, hotspots, and future research trends are also identified in this field, which will help guide new research directions of VNS.
作为一种有前景的神经调节技术，迷走神经刺激（VNS）已被用于治疗多种疾病，且VNS研究数量呈蓬勃增长态势。然而，该领域的出版趋势和研究热点仍不为人知。本研究旨在进行文献计量分析，以系统识别20年全景内VNS研究的出版趋势和研究热点。
检索科学网核心合集（WoSCC）数据库，以筛选2002年至2021年符合条件的VNS相关出版物。使用WoSCC数据库的在线分析工具分析各种文献计量参数，如年度出版物数量、国家/地区产出、期刊、总被引频次、每篇出版物的被引频次以及Hirsch指数。使用文献计量学（http://bibliometric.com/）和CiteSpace（5.6.R3版）来识别研究趋势和热点。
共纳入7283篇出版物进行分析。年度出版物数量稳定增长，但近年来显著增加。前五大高产国家是美国、中国、德国、英国和法国。前五大高产机构是[此处原文缺失机构名称]和[此处原文缺失机构名称]。值得注意的是，国家和机构存在地理不平衡。此外，[此处原文缺失期刊名称]、[此处原文缺失期刊名称]和[此处原文缺失期刊名称]是VNS出版物数量最多的前三本期刊。迈克尔·P·基尔加德是产量最高的作者。此外，不断演变的研究热点主要包括VNS对癫痫症的有效性和机制、VNS作为抗炎调节剂的作用、VNS在精神疾病中的应用以及VNS在头痛管理中的神经调节作用。
本研究揭示了20年全景内全球层面的总体出版趋势和不断演变的研究趋势。该领域潜在合作伙伴、机构、热点及未来研究趋势也得以确定，这将有助于指导VNS的新研究方向。
