Synaptic plasticity in affective comorbidities of neuropathic pain: a bibliometric analysis based on WoSCC and PubMed (2003-2025)

Front Neurol. 2026 Sep 3;17:1916513. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2026.1916513. eCollection 2026.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Neuropathic pain (NP) is frequently accompanied by anxiety and depression, creating a vicious cycle that impairs quality of life. Synaptic plasticity-particularly long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD)-is increasingly recognized as a shared neural substrate linking NP to affective comorbidities. This bibliometric analysis maps the research landscape at this intersection.

METHODS: Data were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection (January 1, 2003, to December 31, 2025) and PubMed (2003 to 2025). After deduplication and eligibility screening, a total of 487 unique publications were identified. Citation metrics and visualization analyses were performed using VOSviewer, CiteSpace, and Bibliometrix.

RESULTS: Publication output has grown steadily since 2003, peaking in 2025 (43 studies). China leads in publication count (180), while the United States holds the highest citation impact (9,723 citations; 64.82 per study). Air Force Medical University and the Xi'an Jiaotong University are core institutions. PAIN (24 studies) and Journal of Neuroscience (22 studies) are the leading journals. Keyword and co-citation analyses indicate that research themes have undergone a phased transition from spinal cord mechanisms to limbic circuits, and then to the comorbidity mechanisms of pain and affective comorbidities, with a gradual shift toward clinical translation.

CONCLUSION: This bibliometric analysis maps a field advancing from single-region synaptic mechanisms toward multi-region circuit integration, with growing contributions from immunology. Persistent gaps in sex-difference characterization and longitudinal study design mark priorities for future investigation. As a descriptive exercise bounded by two databases, these findings should be weighed accordingly.

PMID:42755724 | PMC:PMC13581774 | DOI:10.3389/fneur.2026.1916513