Chinese Journal of Tissue Engineering Research ›› 2026, Vol. 30 ›› Issue (28): 7396-7403.doi: 10.12307/2026.806

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Research hotspots and trends of optogenetics in behavioral neuroscience

Liu Yan1, Zuo Qingchun1, Li Weiying1, Wu Xubo2   

  1. 1School of Rehabilitation Medicine of Jiamusi University, Department of Child Health Care/Heilongjiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Pediatric Neurorehabilitation of Third Affiliated Hospital of Jiamusi University, Jiamusi 154002, Heilongjiang Province, China; 2Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Pudong New Area People’s Hospital, Shanghai 200120, China
  • Received:2025-09-04 Revised:2025-12-06 Online:2026-10-08 Published:2026-02-24
  • Contact: Wu Xubo, MD, Associate professor, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Pudong New Area People’s Hospital, Shanghai 200120, China
  • About author:Liu Yan, MS, School of Rehabilitation Medicine of Jiamusi University, Department of Child Health Care/Heilongjiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Pediatric Neurorehabilitation of Third Affiliated Hospital of Jiamusi University, Jiamusi 154002, Heilongjiang Province, China Li Weiying, School of Rehabilitation Medicine of Jiamusi University, Department of Child Health Care/Heilongjiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Pediatric Neurorehabilitation of Third Affiliated Hospital of Jiamusi University, Jiamusi 154002, Heilongjiang Province, China Liu Yan and Li Weiying contributed equally to this article.
  • Supported by:
    Investigator-Initiated Trial Program of Shanghai Pudong New Area Health Commission (the Medical and Industrial Integration Program), No. 2025-PWYC-11 (to WXB)

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Optogenetics has achieved considerable advances in emotion regulation, reward mechanisms, social behavior, and motor control, demonstrating broad prospects for investigating the pathological mechanisms underlying various neuropsychiatric disorders, including depression, autism spectrum disorder, Parkinson’s disease, and epilepsy.
OBJECTIVE: To analyze the global scientific collaboration network of optogenetics in behavioral neuroscience, identify key research foci, and explore future research directions.
METHODS: A bibliometric analysis was performed using CiteSpace and VOSviewer software to perform a visualized analysis of relevant literature indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection from January 2010 to December 2024.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: (1) A total of 859 articles were included, involving 47 countries, 834 research institutions, and 5 525 authors, and 125 journals. Since 2020, the annual number of publications has increased significantly, indicating that the field has entered a phase of rapid growth. The United States and high-income European countries demonstrate leading positions in research output and academic influence. The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Stanford University, Columbia University, the University of California San Diego, and the University of Washington were identified as core institutions in the collaboration network. Representative prolific authors include Karl Deisseroth, Garret D. Stuber, and Shumin Duan. (2) Optogenetics in behavioral neuroscience has established a relatively stable international collaboration network, with high-income countries playing a leading role in technological innovation and theoretical advancement. Research hotspots primarily focus on emotion regulation, reward and motivation mechanisms, and the modeling of social behaviors. Future research is expected to focus on the neural regulation of sleep-related mood disorders and the regulation of higher cognitive functions such as social cognition and decision-making. Overall, the field is shifting from foundational mechanisms to complex behavioral systems and from unimodal interventions to multimodal integration.

Key words: optogenetics, behavior, behavioral neuroscience, research hotspots, research trends, bibliometrics

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