Osorio-Becerra Dianela A, D'Angelo Egidio, Casellato Claudia
Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy.
Digital Neuroscience Center, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy.
Cerebellum. 2025 Feb 17;24(2):47. doi: 10.1007/s12311-025-01800-7.
The neural basis of emotional experience, both in neurotypical and clinical conditions, remains an open research topic. Historically, the cerebellum was considered a purely motor structure; however, studies since the mid-twentieth century and contributions like the cerebellar cognitive-affective syndrome, evidenced its role in emotion. This has led to an expansion of the paradigm, encouraging further research into the cerebellar role in emotion. Understanding this field's development is essential to assessing its current state, identifying knowledge gaps, and exploring emerging areas. This paper analyzes the evolution of scientific production, addressing how scientific interest has changed over time, factors driving growth, dominant topics, leading figures, and collaboration networks. This analysis identifies trends and opportunities, guiding strategies and advancing knowledge through a comprehensive view of the state-of-the-art in this research area. To achieve this, a systematic search was conducted in key databases, identifying 1,162 publications with which an exhaustive quantitative analysis was conducted using bibliometric techniques, network analysis, and visualization tools. The results show exponential growth in the field, evidenced by the increase in publications, researchers, funding sources, and the emergence of new topics. This interest, along with an interdisciplinary approach, has fostered collaboration, with large teams and multicenter projects emerging, although small, isolated teams still predominate. Research mainly focuses on neurological and affective disorders, with a predominance of studies in humans, followed by rodent models. Overall, the analysis reveals a highly interdisciplinary and expanding field. However, challenges remain, including unequal access to resources and limited exploration of some topics.
无论是在神经正常还是临床情况下，情绪体验的神经基础仍是一个开放的研究课题。历史上，小脑被认为是一个纯粹的运动结构；然而，自二十世纪中叶以来的研究以及诸如小脑认知情感综合征等研究成果，证明了其在情绪方面的作用。这导致了研究范式的扩展，鼓励对小脑在情绪中的作用进行进一步研究。了解该领域的发展对于评估其当前状态、识别知识空白以及探索新兴领域至关重要。本文分析了科研产出的演变，探讨了科学兴趣如何随时间变化、增长的驱动因素、主导主题、领军人物以及合作网络。该分析确定了趋势和机会，通过对该研究领域的最新状况进行全面审视来指导策略并推进知识。为此，在关键数据库中进行了系统搜索，确定了1162篇出版物，并使用文献计量技术、网络分析和可视化工具对其进行了详尽的定量分析。结果表明该领域呈指数增长，这体现在出版物、研究人员、资金来源的增加以及新主题的出现上。这种兴趣，连同跨学科方法，促进了合作，出现了大型团队和多中心项目，尽管小型、孤立的团队仍然占主导地位。研究主要集中在神经和情感障碍方面，以人类研究为主，其次是啮齿动物模型。总体而言，分析揭示了一个高度跨学科且不断扩展的领域。然而，挑战依然存在，包括资源获取不平等以及对某些主题的探索有限。
