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Review
. 2025 Sep 18;18(1):168.
doi: 10.1186/s12245-025-00991-4.

Neuroimaging in traumatic brain injury: a bibliometric analysis

Sidhartha R Ramlatchan  1 , Benjamin Colaco Jamal  2 , Latha Ganti  3 , Samiya Natesan-Torres  4 , Sreeja Natesan  5
Affiliations
Review

Neuroimaging in traumatic brain injury: a bibliometric analysis

Sidhartha R Ramlatchan et al. Int J Emerg Med. .

Abstract

Objective: Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), commonly referred to as concussion, accounts for the vast majority of TBI cases globally, yet remains challenging to define and manage due to its heterogeneous presentation and often subtle clinical and radiographic findings. This bibliometric review aims to characterize the global research landscape on TBI, identifying trends, prolific contributors, and key thematic areas in the literature.

Methods: A bibliometric analysis was conducted using a structured search of the Web of Science Core Collection to identify publications focused on neuroimaging and traumatic brain injury. Data were analyzed using VOSviewer to map co-authorship networks, keyword co-occurrence, and citation patterns over the past decade.

Results: The analysis revealed a steady increase in publications related to TBI, with prominent contributions from institutions in the United States, Canada, and Australia. Common research themes included sports-related concussion, military blast injuries, pediatric TBI, neurocognitive outcomes, and return-to-play protocols. Despite the high volume of research, heterogeneity in diagnostic terminology and outcome measures remains prevalent.

Conclusions: This bibliometric review highlights the growing scholarly attention to TBI while emphasizing the need for standardization in diagnostic criteria and outcome assessment. Future research should prioritize consensus-building and longitudinal cohort studies to address persistent gaps in knowledge and improve patient care.

Keywords: Bibliometric; Neuroimaging; TBI.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: The study was performed in accordance with the ethical standards as laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: Dr. Ganti has an editorial role at Springer.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Number of publications per year on traumatic brain injury and neuroimaging (1983–2024). This bar graph shows annual publication totals based on articles indexed in the Web of Science that include keywords related to both traumatic brain injury and neuroimaging. Research activity increased steadily over the decades, with a notable peak in 2020, followed by a modest decline in the years that followed
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Network map displaying relative number of publications from each leading country (size of circles), tendency for two countries to co-publish together (with lesser distances between circles meaning that they have a greater history of co-publishing), and recency of being a leading nation (color based on legend)
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Network map displaying the countries with the greatest citations in the field (indicated by larger size of circle), the likelihood for two countries to cite each other (with lesser distances between circles meaning that they have a greater history of citing on another), and recency of being a leading nation for citations (color based on legend)
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Network map displaying relative number of publications from each leading organization, and tendency for two organizations to co-publish together
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Tree map diagram displaying overall categorization of publications from the dataset (with some fitting into more than one)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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