Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 26, 2026
Behavioral and Network Pharmacology-Based Analyses for the Traditional Mongolian Medicine Zadi-5 in a Rat Model of Depression
Published on: February 24, 2023
Non-pharmacological traditional Chinese medicine interventions for depression: bibliometric mapping of Chinese
Sihan Dong1, Yazhen Lian1, Jiahui Xie1
1Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, School of Acupuncture-Moxibustion, Tuina and Rehabilitation, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, Hunan, China.
Objective:
The aim of the study was to characterize publication activity, collaboration structures, keyword themes, and temporal changes in the literature on non-pharmacological traditional Chinese medicine interventions for depression.
Methods:
Journal records published from 2000 to 2025 were obtained from CNKI, Wanfang, VIP, and the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC). Eligibility combined mechanical rules with independent paired assessment of 2,089 boundary records and reference-based reconciliation. The final corpora contained 5,385 Chinese and 721 WoSCC records. Full-counting collaboration and keyword networks were analyzed using weighted Louvain communities, cosine-distance silhouettes, two-state burst intervals, and resolution, seed, Leiden, and terminology sensitivity analyses. Selected graph quantities were cross-checked in R/igraph. Additional checks evaluated record-identity consistency, linkage sensitivity, and annual keyword availability denominators.
Results:
Chinese output peaked at 390 records in 2021, while WoSCC output reached 118 records in 2025. Complete author networks contained 12,141 Chinese and 2,933 WoSCC nodes and were sparse (densities 0.000410 and 0.003572). Eligible keyword networks contained 569 Chinese and 81 WoSCC terms. Weighted Louvain yielded five Chinese communities (Q = 0.194124; mean silhouette = 0.005173) and four WoSCC communities (Q = 0.134767; mean silhouette = 0.029369). Stability analyses showed only moderate agreement across seeds and alternative algorithms, indicating that the communities are exploratory summaries rather than discrete topic classes. Keyword availability denominators materially altered some WoSCC community time profiles.
Conclusion:
The literature expanded substantially and centered on acupuncture-related interventions, poststroke depression, evidence synthesis terminology, exercise-based techniques, sleep, and experimental themes. Sparse collaboration networks and overlapping thematic interpretations indicate opportunities for broader collaboration and more consistent terminology. Bibliometric prominence does not establish efficacy, safety, mechanism, or causality.
