Mapping the publication trends of synaptic plasticity in neuropathic pain: A bibliometric analysis

Neuropathic pain typically arises following injury or damage to the somatic nervous system, a chronic and debilitating condition with complex mechanisms. Synaptic plasticity, the changes in neuronal connection strength, has long been recognized to participate in the progression of neuropathic pain. Nevertheless, there has been a lack of bibliometric research on synaptic plasticity in neuropathic pain.

A total of 688 papers were retrieved from the WoSCC databases and the software of Citespace, VOSviewer1.6.18 and the Online Analysis Platform of Literature Metrology (https://bibliometric.com/) were used to conduct bibliometric analysis.

The study provided an overview of research in the field and identified the most productive countries, institutions and authors. By analyzing the timelines of co-cited reference clusters and the citation bursts of co-cited references and keywords, it is evident that glia-neuron interaction and extracellular matrix mediated synaptic plasticity in neuropathic pain. Additionally, the up-to-date research trend and the constantly being discovered neurotransmitter and receptors were worth more attention. Two recent focal points in this field include microglia-related neuroinflammation and the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) plasticity in pain related emotional distress.

The study provides a comprehensive overview of the research on neuropathic pain and synaptic plasticity through bibliometrics and knowledge-map analyses. It aims to offer an updated perspective and suggest future directions for scientific researchers in further investigations.