Mapping the landscape of brain stimulation research: A global scientometric review on cognitive impairment

Background: Several noninvasive brain stimulation techniques have gained increased attention in recent times within the realms of neurocognitive science and clinical research, owing to their potential efficacy in addressing neurological, psychiatric, and cognitive impairment conditions. Objectives: This study explores global trends in brain stimulation research for cognitive impairment and related disorders. Methods: Dataset spanning from 1989 to 2024 were sourced from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) utilizing CiteSpace 6.3.R3 (64-bit) software, researcher analyzed 4156 records using various bibliometric approaches, including year-wise publication trends, country and institutional analysis, author co-citation analysis (ACA), keyword analysis, and document co-citation analysis (DCA). Results: Results revealed a steady increase in research studies, with more than half of the publications occurring in the last six years (2019-2024; 51.85%). The USA led in citation counts (1117), centrality (0.37), and sigma value (3.68), while china topped the burst value (72.31). Institution-wise analysis, the University of London in the United Kingdom dominated in citation counts (235), whereas Capital Medical University topped based on burst value (1.77). Notably, studies related to Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) and repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) dominated the top positions in DCA analysis. Emerging trends were identified through burst keywords, including ‘transcranial Doppler,’ ‘subthalamic nucleus stimulation,’ ‘cerebral blood flow,’ ‘vascular dementia,’ and ‘deep brain stimulation.’ Conclusion: Emerging noninvasive techniques such as Fast Gamma Magnetic Stimulation (FGMS), Paired-Associative Stimulation with TMS (PAS-TMS), and Theta-Burst Stimulation (TBS) hold significant potential for future research in brain stimulation.