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Maina MB, Ahmad U, Ibrahim HA, Hamidu SK, Nasr FE, Salihu AT, Abushouk AI, Abdurrazak M, Awadelkareem MA, Amin A, Imam A, Akinrinade ID, Yakubu AH, Azeez IA, Mohammed YG, Adamu AA, Ibrahim HB, Bukar AM, Yaro AU, Goni BW, Prieto-Godino LL, Baden T. Two decades of neuroscience publication trends in Africa. Nat Commun 2021; 12:3429. [PMID: 34103514 PMCID: PMC8187719 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-23784-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2020] [Accepted: 05/11/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Neuroscience research in Africa remains sparse. Devising new policies to boost Africa's neuroscience landscape is imperative, but these must be based on accurate data on research outputs which is largely lacking. Such data must reflect the heterogeneity of research environments across the continent's 54 countries. Here, we analyse neuroscience publications affiliated with African institutions between 1996 and 2017. Of 12,326 PubMed indexed publications, 5,219 show clear evidence that the work was performed in Africa and led by African-based researchers - on average ~5 per country and year. From here, we extract information on journals and citations, funding, international coauthorships and techniques used. For reference, we also extract the same metrics from 220 randomly selected publications each from the UK, USA, Australia, Japan and Brazil. Our dataset provides insights into the current state of African neuroscience research in a global context.
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Affiliation(s)
- M B Maina
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK.
- Biomedical Science Research and Training Centre, College of Medical Sciences, Yobe State University, Damaturu, Nigeria.
- TReND in Africa (www.TReNDinAfrica.org), Brighton, UK.
| | - U Ahmad
- Medical Genetics Laboratory, Genetics and Regenerative Medicine Research Centre, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
- Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Bauchi State University, PMB 65, Gadau, Nigeria
| | - H A Ibrahim
- College of Medicine, Misr University for Science and Technology, Giza, Egypt
| | - S K Hamidu
- TReND in Africa (www.TReNDinAfrica.org), Brighton, UK
- Department of Human Anatomy, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Gombe State University, Gombe, Nigeria
| | - F E Nasr
- TReND in Africa (www.TReNDinAfrica.org), Brighton, UK
- Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt
| | - A T Salihu
- Non-invasive Brain Stimulation and Neuroplasticity Laboratory, Department of Physiotherapy, School of Primary and Allied Healthcare, Faculty of Medicine Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
- Department of Physiotherapy, Hasiya Bayero Paediatric Hospital, Kano, Nigeria
| | - A I Abushouk
- Harvard Medical School, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA
- Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt
| | - M Abdurrazak
- Sheka Primary Health Care Kumbotso, Kano, Nigeria
| | - M A Awadelkareem
- TReND in Africa (www.TReNDinAfrica.org), Brighton, UK
- Faculty of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Al-Neelain University, Khartoum, Sudan
- UK Dementia Research Institute and Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Department of Neuroscience Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
| | - A Amin
- TReND in Africa (www.TReNDinAfrica.org), Brighton, UK
- Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras, Portugal
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria
| | - A Imam
- Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria
- School of Anatomical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - I D Akinrinade
- TReND in Africa (www.TReNDinAfrica.org), Brighton, UK
- Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras, Portugal
| | - A H Yakubu
- TReND in Africa (www.TReNDinAfrica.org), Brighton, UK
- Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Maiduguri, Maiduguri, Nigeria
| | - I A Azeez
- Department of Neuroscience Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
- Department of Veterinary Anatomy, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Jos, Jos, Nigeria
| | - Y G Mohammed
- TReND in Africa (www.TReNDinAfrica.org), Brighton, UK
- Department of Human Anatomy, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Gombe State University, Gombe, Nigeria
- Department of Biology, Neurobiology group, University of Konstanz, Baden Wurttemberg, Germany
| | - A A Adamu
- Department of Physiotherapy, Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano, Nigeria
| | - H B Ibrahim
- Department of Pharmacy, Federal Medical Centre, Katsina, Nigeria
| | - A M Bukar
- Centre for Visual Computing, University of Bradford, Bradford, UK
| | - A U Yaro
- College of Medical Sciences, University of Maiduguri, Maiduguri, Nigeria
| | - B W Goni
- Department of Medicine, Yobe State University Teaching Hospital Damaturu PMB 1072, Damaturu, Yobe State, Nigeria
| | - L L Prieto-Godino
- TReND in Africa (www.TReNDinAfrica.org), Brighton, UK.
- Francis Crick Institute, London, UK.
| | - T Baden
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK.
- TReND in Africa (www.TReNDinAfrica.org), Brighton, UK.
- Institute of Ophthalmic Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
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