Synapses-associated research in Parkinson's disease: an explored trends analysis

The pathological features of Parkinson's disease (PD) include the formation of Lewy bodies composed mainly of aggregated alpha-synuclein (α-Syn) and extensive neurodegeneration. Synaptic dysfunction is a key factor contributing to disease progression among the various cellular and molecular mechanisms of PD. This study aims to analyze the research hotspots, frontier trends, and future directions of PD and synapses.

Relevant publications were obtained using the Web of Science database. Software CiteSpace, VOSviewer, and bibliometrix were used for visualization and quantitative analysis.

A total of 3,823 publications were included for analysis, and the number of publications related to the research topic showed an increasing trend from 2001 to 2024. North America, Asia, and Europe were the main research forces with high activity. The United States was the main leader in this field, followed by China and Italy. Emory University was the institution with the largest number of publications. Journal of Neuroscience was the core journal with a large number of publications. Dr. Calabresi, Paolo was a leader in the field of research. High-frequency keywords included PD, α-Syn, synaptic plasticity, basal ganglia, dopamine, substantia-nigra. In recent years, neuroinflammation has been the subject of active research.

Communication and collaboration between different countries, institutions, and authors have promoted the development of this field. The research content mainly focused on α-Syn, synaptic plasticity, and mouse model. Neuroinflammation may be the direction of future research.