A Bibliometric Insight of Genetic Factors in ASD: Emerging Trends and New Developments

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) cases have increased rapidly in recent decades, which is associated with various genetic abnormalities. To provide a better understanding of the genetic factors in ASD, we assessed the global scientific output of the related studies. A total of 2944 studies published between 1997 and 2018 were included by systematic retrieval from the Web of Science (WoS) database, whose scientific landscapes were drawn and the tendencies and research frontiers were explored through bibliometric methods. The United States has been acting as a leading explorer of the field worldwide in recent years. The rapid development of high-throughput technologies and bioinformatics transferred the research method from the traditional classic method to a big data-based pipeline. As a consequence, the focused research area and tendency were also changed, as the contribution of de novo mutations in ASD has been a research hotspot in the past several years and probably will remain one into the near future, which is consistent with the current opinions of the major etiology of ASD. Therefore, more attention and financial support should be paid to the deciphering of the de novo mutations in ASD. Meanwhile, the effective cooperation of multi-research centers and scientists in different fields should be advocated in the next step of scientific research undertaken.

Global Trends in Physical-Activity Research of Autism: Bibliometric Analysis Based on the Web of Science Database (1980–2021)

“…The retrieved literature was provided by 34 countries/regions, and cooperation modes were observed among major countries and regions ( Figure 5 ). The number of publications published in a country or region is a sensitive indicator, reflecting the degree of concern and research intensity of a particular research field [ 25 ]. In this respect, the United States cooperated closely with other countries/regions and participated in most of the research, with 213 publications and an H-index of 31 ( Table 4 ).…”

“…Some people think that many sources may indicate that the authors or documents have attracted the attention of researchers in specific fields [ 24 ]. In recent years, some studies have been conducted from the bibliometrics perspective: research on genetic factors in ASD [ 25 ], robot intervention research [ 26 ], education research [ 27 , 28 ], executive function research [ 29 ], virtual reality research [ 30 ], and a scientific research overview [ 31 ] were reviewed and analyzed. Specifically, Perez-Vazquez, E et al found, by analyzing the literature published between 2005 and 2017, that robots may help autistic children to experience real interactions in the future, but its methodological limitations will hinder the popularization of the research results in this field [ 26 ].…”

A bibliometrics analysis and visualization of autism spectrum disorder

“…ASD is the hot spot of current research, and there are some related relevant bibliometric articles. However, previous studies on bibliometrics of ASD mostly focused on a specific field or used a single software ( 15 – 17 ). Therefore, this study used CiteSpace and VOSviewer, combined with bibliometric methods, systematically evaluate the articles on ASD research in the Web of Science (WoS) from 1998 to 2021, focusing on the publishing trend, authors, institutions, countries, published journals, cited articles, research keywords, keywords about etiology and diagnostic markers, and keywords with the strongest citation bursts detection in this research field.…”

Progress and Research Trends on Catha edulis (Vahl) Endl. (Catha edulis): A Review and Bibliometric Analysis

“…Among the keywords with the strongest burst citation, the “designer drug” burst since 2012 indicates another option of synthetic cathinones compared with traditional Catha edulis ( Karila et al, 2015 ; Wang et al, 2020 ). Compared with mild stimulants used for better concentration and performance during trading, farming, socialization, and leisure activities, heavy use and/or concomitant abuse of substances (poly-drug use behavior, such as Catha edulis and a designer drug) due to stronger psychostimulatory desire is rapidly growing ( Ali, 2018 ).…”