Emerging trends in epigenetic and childhood trauma: Bibliometrics and visual analysis

Abstract

BackgroundThe epigenetic study of childhood trauma has become a valuable field. However, the evolution and emerging trends in epigenetics and childhood trauma have not been studied by bibliometric methods.ObjectiveThis study aims to evaluate status of epigenetic studies in childhood trauma and reveal the research trends based on bibliometrics.MethodsA total of 1,151 publications related to childhood trauma and epigenetics published between 2000 and 2021 were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC). CiteSpace (5.8. R 3) was used to implement bibliometric analysis and visualization.ResultsSince 2010, the number of related publications has expanded quickly. The United States and McGill University are the most influential countries and research institutes, respectively. Elisabeth Binder is a leading researcher in childhood trauma and epigenetic-related research. Biological Psychiatry is probably the most popular journal. In addition, comprehensive keyword analysis revealed that “glucocorticoid receptor,” “brain development,” “epigenetic regulation,” “depression,” “posttraumatic stress disorder,” “maternal care,” “histone acetylation,” “telomere length,” “microRNA,” and “anxiety” reflect the latest research trends in the field. A comprehensive reference analysis demonstrated NR3C1 gene methylation, FKBP5 DNA methylation, BDNF DNA methylation, and KITLG methylation have been hot spots in epigenetic studies in the field of childhood trauma in recent years. Notably, the relationship between childhood adversity and NR3C1 gene methylation levels remains unresolved and requires well-designed studies with control for more confounding factors.ConclusionAs the best of our knowledge, this is the first bibliometric analysis of the association between childhood trauma and epigenetics. Our analysis of the literature suggests that childhood trauma may induce depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder through epigenetic regulation of glucocorticoid receptor expression and brain development. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis is the key points of epigenetic research. The current researches focus on NR3C1 gene methylation, FKBP5 DNA methylation, BDNF DNA methylation, and KITLG methylation. These results provide a guiding perspective for the study of epigenetic effects of childhood trauma, and help researchers choose future research directions based on current keywords.

A 30-year bibliometric assessment and visualisation of emotion regulation research: applying network analysis and cluster analysis

“…The quantitative method of bibliometric analysis was strategically chosen for analysing scientific production in the field of emotion regulation. In recent times, bibliometric techniques have been widely adopted in various subfields of psychology as a means of assessing research performance, identifying research trends and themes, uncovering research hotspots and research gaps, as well as for tracing the structure, evolution and development of knowledge within the fields (Dong et al , 2022; Guo et al , 2022; Lin et al , 2022; Fei et al , 2022; Nie et al , 2022; Rong et al , 2022; Wu et al , 2022; Yang et al , 2022). With this viewpoint, this research aimed to explore the field of emotion regulation using bibliometric techniques, including performance measurement, science mapping and network analysis.…”

“…With almost 1.9 billion cited references and over 171 million records, the WoS database is globally recognized as the most reliable and comprehensive citation database, allowing users to track ideas across disciplines and time (Clarivate, 2022). This study preferred the WoS over Scopus because of the following reasons: A wide range of quality, high-impact scientific studies are hosted in WoS, making it a reliable and comprehensive resource for bibliometric analysis (Liu et al , 2018; Ekundayo and Okoh, 2018; Plusquellec and Denault, 2018; Nunen et al , 2017); Many scholars have earlier used WoS database specifically in various subfields of psychology for bibliometric analysis, for example, emotional intelligence (Dong et al , 2022); depression biomarker (Guo et al , 2022); cognitive behavioural therapy for cancer (Lin et al , 2022); delirium (Fei et al , 2022); epigenetic and childhood trauma (Nie et al , 2022); autism spectrum disorder (Rong et al , 2022); dyslexia (Wu et al , 2022); mindfulness and meditation (Wang et al , 2021); schizophrenia (Yang et al , 2022); alexithymia (Gaggero et al , 2020); and fMRI (Yeung, 2018). Thus, the WoS database is deemed more pertinent and selected as a data source for the bibliometric analysis in the field of emotion regulation. …”

“…Many scholars have earlier used WoS database specifically in various subfields of psychology for bibliometric analysis, for example, emotional intelligence (Dong et al , 2022); depression biomarker (Guo et al , 2022); cognitive behavioural therapy for cancer (Lin et al , 2022); delirium (Fei et al , 2022); epigenetic and childhood trauma (Nie et al , 2022); autism spectrum disorder (Rong et al , 2022); dyslexia (Wu et al , 2022); mindfulness and meditation (Wang et al , 2021); schizophrenia (Yang et al , 2022); alexithymia (Gaggero et al , 2020); and fMRI (Yeung, 2018). Thus, the WoS database is deemed more pertinent and selected as a data source for the bibliometric analysis in the field of emotion regulation.…”

“…Lin et al (2022) examined the research on cognitive behavioural therapy for cancer with data sourced from WoS during the period from 2012 to 2022 using different software such as Biblioshiny, VOSviewer and CiteSpace. Nie et al (2022) used bibliometric techniques to investigate epigenetic research on childhood trauma during 2000-2021 with data gathered from the WoS Core Collection. The study found rapid growth in publications after 2010; however, a lack of international scientific collaboration was also observed.…”

“…It allows us to disclose the evolutionary nuances of a particular discipline and identify research trends, hotspots and areas that require further exploration (Donthu et al , 2021). Recently, many scholars (Dong et al , 2022; Guo et al , 2022; Lin et al , 2022; Fei et al , 2022; Nie et al , 2022; Rong et al , 2022; Wu et al , 2022; Yang et al , 2022; Wang et al , 2021; Yeung, 2018) investigated various sub-disciplines of psychology through bibliometric techniques to assess research performance, uncover emerging research trends and themes, identify research gaps and trace the evolution and development of knowledge within the fields.…”