Emerging Trends and Hot Topics of Non-Invasive Electroencephalography Research in the Elderly: A Bibliometric Analysis from 2014 to 2023.

Background: Electroencephalography (EEG) has been rapidly developed and is widely used in both clinical and scientific fields. Original studies on non-invasive EEG in the elderly have been of great importance owing to the global aging trend. The present study aimed to provide a bibliometric overview on current status and trends in this research field.

Methods: We searched the Web of Science Core Collection for articles published during 2014 and 2023. Synonyms for EEG and the elderly were combined as a retrieval strategy. Invasive EEG and secondary studies were excluded. Online filters and manual reviews were applied to select eligible articles. Basic bibliometric parameters were analyzed and visualized using VOSviewer and Excel software.

Results: A total of 1656 publications were filtered, and 655 of which were finally included. In general, publication counts have steadily increased over the last 10 years. A sharp rise in publications occurred in 2021, and then remained at a high level. Authors and institutions from high-income countries/regions such as the United States of America (USA), China, and Germany were more productive and made significant contributions. Journals specialized in neuroscience, such as Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, Neurobiology of Aging, and Clinical Neurophysiology, were popular among authors. Articles on aging, Alzheimer's disease (AD), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), dementia, memory, event-related potentials, attention, and the brain were more likely to use EEG. The newer topics included anesthesia, postoperative delirium (POD), confusion assessment method, connectivity, validation, and power.

Conclusion: This bibliometric study provides fundamental knowledge on the current status and hot spots of the original studies on EEG in elderly, which is beneficial to researchers in paving future investigations of neuroscience and neural diseases.