A Scientometric Approach to Review the Role of the Medial Preoptic Area (MPOA) in Parental Behavior

Fifty years of research on questionable research practises in science: quantitative analysis of co-citation patterns

Questionable research practises (QRPs) have been the focus of the scientific community amid greater scrutiny and evidence highlighting issues with replicability across many fields of science. To capture the most impactful publications and the main thematic domains in the literature on QRPs, this study uses a document co-citation analysis. The analysis was conducted on a sample of 341 documents that covered the past 50 years of research in QRPs. Nine major thematic clusters emerged. Statistical reporting and statistical power emerged as key areas of research, where systemic-level factors in how research is conducted are consistently raised as the precipitating factors for QRPs. There is also an encouraging shift in the focus of research into open science practises designed to address engagement in QRPs. Such a shift is indicative of the growing momentum of the open science movement, and more research can be conducted on how these practises are employed on the ground and how their uptake by researchers can be further promoted. However, the results suggest that, while pre-registration and registered reports receive the most research interest, less attention has been paid to other open science practises (e.g. data sharing).

Culture and the assumptions about appearance and reality: a scientometric look at a century of research

Introduction

People represent the world in terms of two constructs: how something appears on the surface (appearance) and what it is underneath that surface (reality). Both constructs are central to various bodies of literature. What has not been done, however, is a systematic look at this collection of literature for overarching themes. Motivated by this research gap, the present scientometric review aimed to identify the common themes that penetrate through a century of scholarly work on appearance and reality. In doing so, this review also sketched a scientometric outline of the international network, pinpointing where the work was carried out.

Methods

With CiteSpace software, we computed an optimized document co-citation analysis with a sample of 4,771 documents (1929-2022), resulting in a network of 1,785 nodes.

Results and discussion

We identified impactful publications, summarized major intellectual movements, and identified five thematic clusters ("Perception of Counseling Services", "Appearance and Reality in Sociocultural Evolution," "Cultural Heritage and Identity," "Media and Culture," and "Cultural Identity"), all with theoretical and pragmatic implications which we discuss. A deeper look at these clusters reveals new empirical questions and promising directions for future research.

The trend of breeding value research in animal science: bibliometric analysis

This study aims to identify trends and hot topics in breeding value to support researchers in finding new directions for future research in that area. The data of this study consist of 7072 academic studies on breeding value in the Web of Science database. Network visualizations and in-depth bibliometric analysis were performed on cited references, authors, countries, institutions, journals, and keywords through CiteSpace. VanRaden (2008) is the most cited work and has an essential place in the field. The most prolific writer is Ignacy Misztal. While the most productive country in breeding value studies is the United States, the People's Republic of China is an influential country that has experienced a strong citation burst in the last 3 years. The National Institute for Agricultural Research and Wageningen University are important institutions that play a critical role in connecting other institutions. Also, these two institutions have the highest centrality values. "Genomic prediction" is the outstanding sub-study field in the active clusters appearing in the analysis results. We have summarized the literature on breeding value, including publication information, country, institution, author, and journal. We can say that hot topics today are "genome-wide association", "feed efficiency", and "genomic prediction". While the studies conducted in the past years have focused on economic value and accuracy, the studies conducted in recent years have started to be studies that consider technological developments and changing world conditions such as global warming and carbon emission.

Antagonistic circuits mediating infanticide and maternal care in female mice

In many species, including mice, female animals show markedly different pup-directed behaviours based on their reproductive state1,2. Naive wild female mice often kill pups, while lactating female mice are dedicated to pup caring3,4. The neural mechanisms that mediate infanticide and its switch to maternal behaviours during motherhood remain unclear. Here, on the basis of the hypothesis that maternal and infanticidal behaviours are supported by distinct and competing neural circuits5,6, we use the medial preoptic area (MPOA), a key site for maternal behaviours7-11, as a starting point and identify three MPOA-connected brain regions that drive differential negative pup-directed behaviours. Functional manipulation and in vivo recording reveal that oestrogen receptor α (ESR1)-expressing cells in the principal nucleus of the bed nucleus of stria terminalis (BNSTprESR1) are necessary, sufficient and naturally activated during infanticide in female mice. MPOAESR1 and BNSTprESR1 neurons form reciprocal inhibition to control the balance between positive and negative infant-directed behaviours. During motherhood, MPOAESR1 and BNSTprESR1 cells change their excitability in opposite directions, supporting a marked switch of female behaviours towards the young.

Developmental disabilities in Africa: A scientometric review

BACKGROUND

Developmental disabilities are disproportionately more investigated in higher-income countries. However, global prevalence of developmental disabilities indicate that a large proportion of individuals with disabilities reside in low- and middle-income nations.

AIMS

The present work therefore aims to conduct a scientometric review to survey available literature on developmental disabilities in low- and middle-income countries belonging to the continent of Africa.

METHODS AND PROCEDURES

A literature search was conducted on Scopus, where a total of 1720 relevant publications (and an accompanying 66 thousand references) were found, representing research conducted between 1950 to 2022. Then, document co-citation analysis was performed to chart significant co-citation relationships between relevant articles and their cited references.

OUTCOMES AND RESULTS

The generated network based on document co-citation analysis revealed a total of 14 distinct thematic research clusters and 12 significant documents that have been frequently cited in the literature on developmental disabilities in Africa.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

The scientometric review revealed a trend of broadening research towards systems of care, away from a medical model of disease. It is projected that future research will continue to capitalise on inter-disciplinary strengths to arrive at a more nuanced understanding of developmental disability from all levels - individuals, families, to communities.

Recent Developments in Autism Genetic Research: A Scientometric Review from 2018 to 2022

Genetic research in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has progressed tremendously in recent decades. Dozens of genetic loci and hundreds of alterations in the genetic sequence, expression, epigenetic transformation, and interactions with other physiological and environmental systems have been found to increase the likelihood of developing ASD. There is therefore a need to represent this wide-ranging yet voluminous body of literature in a systematic manner so that this information can be synthesised and understood at a macro level. Therefore, this study made use of scientometric methods, particularly document co-citation analysis (DCA), to systematically review literature on ASD genetic research from 2018 to 2022. A total of 14,818 articles were extracted from Scopus and analyzed with CiteSpace. An optimized DCA analysis revealed that recent literature on ASD genetic research can be broadly organised into 12 major clusters representing various sub-topics. These clusters are briefly described in the manuscript and potential applications of this study are discussed.

The Interaction between Serotonin Transporter Allelic Variation and Maternal Care Modulates Instagram Sociability in a Sample of Singaporean Users

Human social interactions ensure recognition and approval from others, both in offline and online environments. This study applies a model from behavioral genetics on Instagram sociability to explore the impact of individual development on behavior on social networks. We hypothesize that sociable attitudes on Instagram resulted from an interaction between serotonin transporter gene alleles and the individual’s social relationship with caregivers. We assess the environmental and genetic components of 57 Instagram users. The self-report questionnaire Parental Bonding Instrument is adopted to determine the quality of parental bonding. The number of posts, followed users (“followings”), and followers are collected from Instagram as measures of online social activity. Additionally, the ratio between the number of followers and followings (“Social Desirability Index”) was calculated to estimate the asymmetry of each user’s social network. Finally, buccal mucosa cell samples were acquired, and the polymorphism rs25531 (T/T homozygotes vs. C-carriers) within the serotonin transporter gene was examined. In the preliminary analysis, we identified a gender effect on the number of followings. In addition, we specifically found a gene–environment interaction on the standardized Instagram “Social Desirability Index” in line with our predictions. Users with the genotype more sensitive to environmental influences (T/T homozygotes) showed a higher Instagram “Social Desirability Index” than nonsensitive ones (C-carriers) when they experienced positive maternal care. This result may contribute to understanding online social behavior from a gene*environment perspective.

From the Cradle to the Web: The Growth of “Sharenting”—A Scientometric Perspective

“Sharenting” is an internet trend in which parents report detailed information or repeatedly post pictures, videos, and other content about their children on social media. Due to the duality of sharenting, which takes place online but has offline consequences, it is essential to understand the implications of sharenting for real-world parenting and child development. The present work analyzes references in the existing literature and links among published articles to better understand sharenting, evidence for it, and major topics associated with it and to uncover the gaps in the literature. Citation analysis of the current literature mainly focuses on risks and benefits related to sharenting practices, especially for the children, and on ethical and privacy concerns. Future studies should investigate the psychological mechanisms that drive sharenting-related behaviors in parents and multidisciplinary approaches to the phenomenon. With a broader perspective on these issues, practitioners and professionals in family studies will be able to delineate guidelines for informative interventions to increase awarenes about the causes and consequences of publicly sharing child content.

Mapping Intellectual Structure for the Long Non-Coding RNA in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Development Research

Background: Emerging research suggests that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play an important role in a variety of developmental or physiological processes of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Various differentially expressed lncRNAs have been identified in HCC. Thus, a deeper analysis of recent research concerning lncRNA and HCC development could provide scientists with a valuable reference for future studies.

Methods: Related publications were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection database. CiteSpace version 5.6.R4 was employed to conduct bibliometric analysis. Several network maps were constructed to evaluate the collaborations between different countries, institutions, authors, journals, and keywords.

Results: A total of 2,667 records were initially found from the year of 2010–2020. The annual related publications output had increased dramatically during these years. Although China was the most prolific country in terms of research publication, the United States played a leading role in collaborative network. The Nanjing Medical University was the most productive institute in the field of lncRNAs in HCC development. Gang Chen was the most prolific researcher, while Yang F was the most frequently co-cited author. Oncotarget, Cell, and Oncogene were the most highly co-cited journals. The most recent burst keywords were interaction, database, and pathway.

Conclusion: This study provides a comprehensive overview for the field of lncRNAs in HCC development based on bibliometric and visualized methods. The results would provide a reference for scholars focusing on this field.

Developmental disabilities across the world: A scientometric review from 1936 to 2020

BACKGROUND

Developmental disabilities have been largely studied in the past years. Their etiological mechanisms have been underpinned to the interactions between genetic and environmental factors. These factors show variability across the world. Thus, it is important to understand where the set of knowledge obtained on developmental disabilities originates from and whether it is generalizable to low- and middle-income countries.

AIMS

This study aims to understand the origins of the available literature on developmental disabilities, keeping a focus on parenting, and identify the main trend of research.

METHODS AND PROCEDURE

A sample of 11,315 publications from 1936 to 2020 were collected from Scopus and a graphical country analysis was conducted. Furthermore, a qualitative approach enabled the clustering of references by keywords into four main areas: "Expression of the disorder", "Physiological Factors", "How it is studied" and "Environmental factors". For each area, a document co-citation analysis (DCA) on CiteSpace software was performed.

OUTCOMES AND RESULTS

Results highlight the leading role of North America in the study of developmental disabilities. Trends in the literature and the documents' scientific relevance are discussed in details.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

Results demand for investigation in different socio-economical settings to generalize our knowledge. What this paper adds? The current paper tries to provide insight into the origins of the literature on developmental disabilities with a focus on parenting, together with an analysis of the trends of research in the field. The paper consisted of a multi-disciplinary and multi-method review. In fact, the review tried to integrate the analysis of the relation between developmental disabilities with a closer look at the scientific contributions to the field across the world. Specifically, the paper integrates a total of 11,315 papers published on almost a century of research (from 1936 to 2020). An initial qualitative analysis on keywords was combined to a subsequent quantitative approach in order to maximize the comprehension of the impact of almost a century of scientific contributions. Specifically, documents were studied with temporal and structural metrics on a scientometric approach. This allowed the exploration of patterns within the literature available on Scopus in a quantitative way. This method not only assessed the importance of single documents within the network. As a matter of fact, the document co-citation analysis used on CiteSpace software provided insight into the relations existing between multiple documents in the field of research. As a result, the leading role of North America in the literature of developmental disabilities and parenting emerged. This was accompanied by the review of the main trends of research within the existing literature.

Interpersonal Synchrony in the Context of Caregiver-Child Interactions: A Document Co-citation Analysis

Social interactions accompany individuals throughout their whole lives. When examining the underlying mechanisms of social processes, dynamics of synchrony, coordination or attunement emerge between individuals at multiple levels. To identify the impactful publications that studied such mechanisms and establishing the trends that dynamically originated the available literature, the current study adopted a scientometric approach. A sample of 543 documents dated from 1971 to 2021 was derived from Scopus. Subsequently, a document co-citation analysis was conducted on 29,183 cited references to examine the patterns of co-citation among the documents. The resulting network consisted of 1,759 documents connected to each other by 5,011 links. Within the network, five major clusters were identified. The analysis of the content of the three major clusters-namely, "Behavioral synchrony," "Towards bio-behavioral synchrony," and "Neural attunement"-suggests an interest in studying attunement in social interactions at multiple levels of analysis, from behavioral to neural, by passing through the level of physiological coordination. Furthermore, although initial studies on synchrony focused mostly on parent-child interactions, new hyperscanning paradigms are allowing researchers to explore the role of biobehavioral synchrony in all social processes in a real-time and ecological fashion. Future potential pathways of research were also discussed.

Surveying 80 Years of Psychodrama Research: A Scientometric Review

Almost a century after Jacob Levy Moreno pioneered the group practice of psychodrama, research in this area has flourished to include different sub-fields of study and psychodramatic intervention for various psychological conditions. By making use of scientometric analysis, particularly document citation analysis and keyword analysis, this study maps out dominant research domains in psychodrama since its inception. From these findings, projections of future research trends and an evaluation of psychodrama research are discussed. Generally, there has been an increased adoption of technology to facilitate psychodrama practice, along with an increasing integration of psychodramatic principles with other psychotherapies. To improve research in this area, this paper recommends greater transparency in the reporting of materials, processes and data used in publications. Finally, we encourage embracing new technological methods such as neuroimaging to provide greater insight into mechanisms of change in psychodrama. The field of psychodrama remains full of potential and innovations to be developed.