Annals of Neurosciences, Vol 17, No 2 (2010)

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Annals of Neurosciences, Volume 17, Issue 2 (April), 2010

Research Article

Mapping of neuroscience research: a quantitative analysis of publications output of China, 1999-2008

Adarsh Bala1 and B.M.Gupta2

1Central Library, Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, Chandigarh; 2 National Institute of Science, Technology & Development Studies, New Delhi 110 012

KEY WORDS
Citation
Publications
China
Neuroscience

Corresponding Author
Adarsh Bala
E-mail : adarshbindu@rediffmail.com
Tel. : 0172-2665253
Mob. : 9872092287

ABSTRACT

Background: Neuroscience is one of the most active research fields in many countries including China since 1970. The Chinese neuroscientists are playing an ever growing and important role in IBRO activities for the development of worldwide cooperation in Brain research. Purpose: The main objective of this study is to analyze the research performance of China in neurosciences in national and global context, as reflected in its publication output during 1999-2008. Methods: This study is based on the Chinese publication data in neurosciences retrieved from the Scopus Citation database for the 10 years (1999-2008). Several parameters including total research output, its growth, rank and global publication share, citation impact, share of international collaborative papers and major collaborative partner countries and patterns of research communication in most productive journals were studied. Results: China's world ranking improved to 8th position in 2008. The cumulative publication output of China accounts for 39.69 % share of international collaborative papers during 1999-2008. Chinese authors in neuroscience field together contributed 794 papers, with an average of 49.63 papers per author. Conclusion: The top 49 highly cited papers in neurosciences from China had scored higher impact with 126.73 citations per paper. These 49 high-cited papers have appeared in 25 journals and are affiliated to 32 Chinese institutions.

doi : 10.5214/ans.0972-7531.1017204

Introduction

Neuroscience is one of the most active research fields in many countries including China, which is an economically and scientifically emerging country with rapid developments occurring since 1970. Among the biological sciences at large, neuroscience is one of the most advanced fields in China.

Neurosciences as a distinct discipline or research program have been a rather recent event in most Chinese universities, research institutes and other organizations. However, the last few years have witnessed increased funding and an improved research environment for neurosciences in China, both of which facilitated an influx of Chinese neuroscientists trained abroad.

A recent team members from International Brain Research Organization's (IBRO) visited to neuroscience centres in China and later termed the country as 'The Chinese Neuroscience Dragon'. The neuroscience community is growing fast in China. In several Institutes in Beijing, Xi'an, Hangzhou and Shanghai, neuroscientists are playing an active and leading roles in the development of neuroscience in the country and a number of centers of excellence have been recently established. The Chinese neuroscientists are playing an ever growing and important role in IBRO activities for the development of worldwide cooperation in brain research. For the growth of neuroscience in China, a unique China-Australian collaboration in neurosciences has been formed between Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) and the Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Much of the progress in neurosciences has been driven by small group of foreign trained scientists who have paired up with Institutes in China. Neurosciences growth story in Beijing and Shanghai is largely as a result of dedication and hard work of a few prominent individuals, but Institutes in Chinese provinces have still a long way to go to establish neurosciences programs and centers.

A few quantitative studies analyzing neuroscience literature in some countries have been carried out in the past. Braun et al.1 analyzed the characteristics of publication activity and co-authorship in world neurosciences literature. Evaluation of country research output in neurosciences have been carried out on Europe2-3 (Mela & Mancardi, 2002) (Robert,2006), Spain4-5 (Lopez-Munoz, 1996) (Gomez, 1990), Italy6 (Berardelli, 2005), Sweden7 (Glanzel, 2003), China8-9 (Xu, 2003)(Han, 2008), and Cuba10 (Dorta-Contreras, 2008) by different scholars from time to time. The main objective of this study is to analyze the research performance of China in neurosciences in national and global context, as reflected in its publication output during 1999-2008. In particular, the study focuses on the following objectives: (i) To study the Chinese research output, its growth, rank and global publication share and impact, (ii) To study the patterns of international collaboration, (iii) To study the publication productivity and impact of leading institutions of China (iv) To study the characteristics of prolific authors and high cited-papers, and (v) To study the patterns of research communication in most productive journals.

Methods

This study is based on the Chinese publication data in neurosciences retrieved from the Scopus Citation database for last 10 years (1999-2008). Three-year citations window has been used for counting the citations and for accessing the impact of Chinese research output, which included leading Chinese institutions and authors.

Results

Global Publication Share and Rank

The global publication shares of the top 26 countries varies from 0.84% to 36.13% during 1999-2008. The United States tops the list with global publication share of 36.13% and holds first rank during 1999-08, followed by United Kingdom (10.92%, 2nd rank), Germany (8.77%, 3rd rank), Japan (8.09%, 4th rank), Canada (5.71%, 5th rank), France (5.46%, 6th rank) and Italy (5.24%, 7th rank). Netherlands, Australia, Spain, Sweden and China ranks between 8th-12th position (with their global publication share ranging from 2% to 3%). The countries that rank between 13th and 20th positions include Switzerland, Columbia, Brazil, Israel, Belgium, South Korea, Finland and Turkey with their global publication share ranging from 1% to 2%. The next six countries (India, Austria, Denmark, Poland, Russia and Taiwan) rank from 21st to 26th positions with their global share less than 1% (Table 1).

Among developed countries, that has shown decline in publication share from the year 1999 to the year 2008 are United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, France, Sweden, Finland and Russia. In contrast, developed countries that have shown rise in their publication share during the same period are Canada, Netherlands, Australia, Spain, Switzerland, Belgium, Finland, Turkey, Austria, Denmark and Poland. In contrast, most developing countries (except Columbia) has shown rise in their publication share from 1999 to 2008: China by 3.93%, South Korea by 1.42%, Brazil by 1.29%, India by 0.63%, Taiwan by 0.60% and Israel by 0.28% (Table 1).

China ranks at 12th position among the top 26 countries in Neurology, with its global publication share of 2.03% during 1999-08. Brazil, South Korea and India ranks at 15th, 18th and 26th position, with global publication share of 1.74%, 1.24% and 0.99% during 1999-08. China's global share has increased from 0.86% to 4.79% and also its world ranking from 21st to 8th from 1999 to 2008. In comparison, Brazil, South Korea and India's global publication share increased from 1.09% to 2.38%, 0.57% to 1.99% and from 0.72% to 1.35% from 1999 to 2008 and their global ranking increased from 15th to 12th, 18th to 15th and from 23rd to 19th (Table 1).

China's publication output in Neurosciences

China's total cumulative publication output during 1999-0 consists of 9184 papers, with average number of papers per year as 918. Compared to China, the publication output of Brazil, South Korea and India during the same period consists of 7850 papers, 5625 papers and 4503 papers, with average number of papers per year as 785, 562 and 450 respectively. The cumulative number of publications of China increased from 2182 papers in 1999-03 to 7002 papers in 2004-08, witnessing a growth of 220.90% (Table 2). Compared to China, the cumulative publication output of Brazil, South Korea and India has increased from 2871 papers to 4979 papers, 1788 papers to 3837 papers and from 1737 papers to 2766 papers respectively from 1999-03 to 2004-08, witnessing a growth rate of 73.42%, 114.6% and 59.24% as against 20.59% growth of the world cumulative publication output during the same period (Table 2).

Table 1: Global publication output, publication share and rank of top 26 most productive countries in Neurosciences

S.No. Country No. of Papers % Share of Papers Rank
    1999–08 1999 2008 1999–08 1999 2008 1999–08 1999 2008
1 USA 163055 14360 18539 36.13 36.61 35.09 1 1 1
2 U.K. 49283 4284 5665 10.92 10.92 10.72 2 2 2
3 Germany 39594 3517 4664 8.77 8.97 8.83 3 4 3
4 Japan 36532 3643 3544 8.09 9.29 6.71 4 3 4
5 Canada 25786 2154 3237 5.71 5.49 6.13 5 6 5
6 France 24642 2395 2697 5.46 6.11 5.10 6 5 7
7 Italy 23634 2091 2845 5.24 5.33 5.38 7 7 6
8 Netherlands 13716 940 1830 3.04 2.40 3.46 8 10 9
9 Australia 13098 1020 1786 2.90 2.60 3.38 9 8 10
10 Spain 12044 918 1579 2.67 2.34 2.99 10 11 11
11 Sweden 9282 942 987 2.06 2.40 1.87 11 9 16
12 China 9184 337 2534 2.03 0.86 4.79 12 21 8
13 Switzerland 8699 692 1156 1.93 1.76 2.19 13 12 13
14 Columbia 7852 527 1063 1.74 1.34 2.01 14 14 14
15 Brazil 7850 429 1257 1.74 1.09 2.38 15 17 12
16 Israel 7484 559 900 1.66 1.42 1.70 16 13 17
17 Belgium 5636 435 739 1.25 1.11 1.40 17 16 18
18 South Korea 5580 224 1051 1.24 0.57 1.99 18 24 15
19 Finland 4580 451 452 1.01 1.15 0.85 19 15 24
20 Turkey 4540 181 694 1.00 0.46 1.31 20 26 20
21 India 4503 284 715 0.99 0.72 1.35 21 23 19
22 Austria 4387 349 485 0.97 0.89 0.92 22 19 23
23 Denmark 4302 346 535 0.95 0.88 1.01 23 20 22
24 Poland 4136 302 419 0.92 0.77 0.79 24 22 25
25 Russia 3825 424 405 0.85 1.08 0.77 25 18 26
26 Taiwan 3787 219 615 0.84 0.56 1.16 26 25 21
  World 451331 39221 52836            

Table 2: Publication output and citations received by China, Brazil, South Korea and India Papers in Neurosciences, 1999-08

     China Brazil South Korea    India
  TP       TC    ACPP TP       TC    ACPP TP       TC    ACPP TP       TC    ACPP
1999 337    1849    5.49 429    2008    4.68 224    1934    8.63 284     700     2.46
2000 386    2343    6.07 527    3212    6.09 312    2329    7.46 319    1416    4.44
2001 361    2128    5.89 533    2949    5.53 336    2503    7.45 312    1308    4.19
2002 460    3165    6.88 653    3746    5.74 391    2928    7.49 359    1308    3.46
2003 638    4640    7.27 729    4799    6.58 525    4313    8.22 463    1694    3.66
2004 789    6267    7.94 733    4644    6.34 554    4999    9.02 411    1888    4.59
2005 942    7957    8.45 872    5589    6.41 646    5994    9.28 464    2349    5.06
2006 1284   9282   7.23 1020    6013    5.90 772    5802    7.52 546    2626    4.81
2007 1453 1097 814 630
2008 2534 1257 1051 715
99–03 2182 2871 1788 1737
04–08 7002 4979 3837 2766
99–08 9184 7850 5625 4503
TP = Total Paper; TC = Total Citations; ACPP = Average Citation per Paper

In terms of impact and quality, the average citations per paper registered by China's publication output during 1999-06 were 7.24. In comparison, South Korea publications have registered a comparative higher impact of 8.29 than China, followed by Brazil (5.99) and India (4.21) with comparative less impact for their publications during the same period. The average citations per paper for China's cumulative publications decreased from 7.70 in 1999-02 to 7.24 in 2003-06. In comparison, the average citations per paper for cumulative publications of Brazil, South Korea and India decreased from 6.27 to 5.99, 8.61 to 8.29 and from 4.54 to 4.21 from 1999-02 to 2003-06 (Table 2).

International collaborative share in China's publication output

Based on the publication data, the total cumulative International collaborative papers of China consist of 3645 papers, which accounts for 39.69% share in the cumulative output of China in Neurosciences during 1999-08. In comparison, South Korea's International collaborative papers share in their cumulative publication output during 1999-08 was 28.18% share (with 1585 collaborative papers), followed by Brazil with 24.09% (with 1891 collaborative papers) and India with 17.34% share (with 781 collaborative papers) (Table 3).

China witnessed a marginal decrease in the share of international collaborative papers from 40.74% in 1999-03 to 39.36% in 2004-08. In comparison, the international collaborative publications share of Brazil and India has increased from 22.78% to 24.84% and from 13.59% to 19.70%, as against decrease from 28.35% to 28.09% in case of South Korea from 1999-03 to 2004-08 (Table 3).

Considering the contribution of collaborative partners in China's publication output, 19 countries were found to publish more than 20 collaborative papers with China during 1999-2008 and they are considered as major collaborative partners. United States is the largest collaborating partner during 1999-08, by contributing 45.38% share in China's total international collaborative papers in Neurosciences during 1999-08, followed by Japan (13.09% share), Taiwan, Canada, Germany, Sweden, and Australia, (between 3.21% to 6.36% share), France, UK, Netherlands and Singapore, (between 2% to 3%), South Korea, Denmark, Italy, Columbia and Switzerland (between 1 to 2% share). On analyzing the shift in International collaborative publications share of these countries from 1999-03 to 2004-08, it was found that the share of United States have increased by 4.82%, followed by Canada (2.6%), Germany (1.57%) South Korea (1.24%), Singapore (1.04%) and Australia (0.82%), while the share of all other collaborating countries have decreased by 3.67% in Japan, followed by Sweden (3.07%), Taiwan (1.85%), Denmark (1.09%), and U.K (0.27%)(Table 4).

Table 3 : Number and share of International papers of China, Brazil, South Korea and India.

Year
China
Year
Brazil
  TP TICP %TICP   TP TICP %TICP
1999-03 2182 889 40.74 1999-03 2871 654 22.78
2004-08 7002 2756 39.36 2004-08 4979 1237 24.84
1999-08 9184 3645 39.69 1999-08 7850 1891 24.09

Year
South Korea
Year
India
  TP TICP %TICP   TP TICP %TICP
1999–03 1788 507 28.36 1999–03 1737 236 13.59
2004–08 3837 1078 28.09 2004–08 2766 545 19.70
1999–08 5625 1585 28.19 1999–08 4503 781 17.34
TP = Total Paper; TICP = Total International Collaborative Papers

Table 4 : Major collaborative country's share in total International collaborative papers (TICP) of China, 1999-2008

Country Total International Collaborative Papers (TICP)   % Share of TICP  
  1999-03 2004-08 1999-08 1999-03 2004-08 1999-08
USA
Japan
Taiwan
Canada
Germany
Sweden
Australia
France
UK
Netherlands
Singapore
South Korea
Denmark
Italy
Columbia
Switzerland
Belgium
Israel
Spain
Total
371
141
69
32
38
58
23
26
26
17
12
7
22
13
9
9
8
6
3
976
1283
336
163
171
161
95
94
81
73
62
66
56
38
43
47
33
24
18
18
3259
1654
477
232
203
199
153
117
107
99
79
78
63
60
56
56
42
32
24
21
4235
41.73
15.86
7.76
3.60
4.27
6.52
2.59
2.92
2.92
1.91
1.35
0.79
2.47
1.46
1.01
1.01
0.90
0.67
0.34
 
46.55
12.19
5.91
6.20
5.84
3.45
3.41
2.94
2.65
2.25
2.39
2.03
1.38
1.56
1.71
1.20
0.87
0.65
0.65
 
45.38
13.09
6.36
5.57
5.46
4.20
3.21
2.94
2.72
2.17
2.14
1.73
1.65
1.54
1.54
1.15
0.88
0.69
0.58
 

Research profile of most productive Chinese Institutions

The top 15 Chinese most productive Institutions in Neurosciences have published more than 170 papers during 1999-2008. The list of these Institutions along with their research output, percentage share, growth rate, number of collaborative papers, citations and h index value registered is presented in Table 5 & 6. These 15 institutions together contributed 57.61% share (with 5291 papers) in the cumulative publication output of China in Neurosciences, with an average of 352.73 papers per Institution. Only 4 institutions registered the higher publications output than the group average. These are Chinese University of Hong Kong (with 831 papers and 9.05% share), Peking University (with 669 papers and 7.28% share), The University of Hong Kong (with 628 papers and 6.84% share), and Fudan University (with 466 papers and 5.07% share).

Considering the growth rate of these 15 Institutes' publications from 1999-2003 to 2004-2008, the overall growth rate was found to be 179.01%. Nine institutions have achieved the higher growth rate than the group average. These are Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai with a growth rate 1442.11%, followed by Sun Yat Sen University, Guangzhou (with 1220% growth rate), China Medical University, Shenyang (with 870% growth rate), Capital Medical University, Beijing (with 760.61% growth rate), Zhejiang University, Hangzhou (with 659.10% growth rate), Sichuan University, Chengdu (with 600% growth rate), Huazhong Univ. of Science & Technology, Wuhan (with 490.91% growth rate), Peking University (with 284.78% growth rate) and Fudan Univ., Shanghai(with 194.92% growth rate).

The average citation per paper received by the total papers of these 15 most productive Institutions is 4.08. Among these 15 Institutions, Shanghai Inst. for Biological Sciences, Shanghai scored the highest impact with 5.40 citations per paper, followed by The University of Hong Kong, China (with 4.67 citations per paper), Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou (with 4.61 citations per paper), Peking University and Fudan University (with 4.50 citations per paper each), Huazhong University of Science & Technology, Wuhan (with 4.38 citations per paper), Univ. of Science & Technology, Hefei (with 4.37 citations per paper) and Chinese University of Hong Kong (with 4.14 citations per paper).

Considering the number and share in the form of international collaborative papers, these Institutions together contributed 1979 International collaborative papers, with an average share of 37.40% in total papers by these Institutions. Only six Institutions have scored more than the average share of International collaboration of all 15 Institutions. They are Zhejiang University, Hangzhou with 53.44% share of International collaborative papers), followed by The University of Hong Kong, China (with 52.71% share), Sichuan University, Chengdu (with 48.86% share), Sun Yat Sen University, Guangzhou (with 46.95% share), China Medical University, Shenyang (with 46.26% share), and Peking University (with 40.66% share) .

Table 5: Percentage share and growth rate of top institutions of China in Neuroscience during 1999-2008

Institution name TP %share Growth Rate
99-03 04-08 99-08 1999-2008 99-03 to 04-08
Chinese Univ. of Hong Kong, Hong Kong China
Peking Univ., Beijing
The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Fudan Univ., Shanghai
Capital Medical Univ. China, Beijing
Shanghai Jiaotong Univ., Shanghai
The Fourth Military Medical Univ., Xi'an
Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Guangzhou
Shanghai Inst. for Bilogical Sc. Chinese Acdemy of Sc., Shanghai
Huazhong Univ. of Sc. & Tech., Wuhan
China Medical Univ. Shenyang, Shenyang
Sun Yat–Sen Univ., Guangzhou
Univ. of Sc. & Technology, Hefei
Zhejiang Univ., Hangzhou
Sichuan Univ., Chengdu
289
138
242
118
33
19
142
172
68
33
20
15
63
22
22
542
531
386
348
284
293
160
122
179
195
194
198
142
167
154
831
669
628
466
317
312
302
294
247
228
214
213
205
189
176
9.05
7.28
6.84
5.07
3.45
3.40
3.29
3.20
2.69
2.48
2.33
2.32
2.23
2.06
1.92
87.54
284.78
59.50
194.92
760.61
1442.11
12.68
-29.07
163.24
490.91
870.00
1220.00
125.40
659.10
600.00

The average h-index value of these 15 most productive institutions was 23. The six institutions have registered higher h-index value than group average. These are Chinese University of Hong Kong and The University of Hong Kong (each with h-index value of 38), followed by Peking University, Beijing (32), Fudan Univ., Shanghai (30), The Fourth Military Medical Univ., Xi'an (25) and Shanghai Inst. for Biological Sciences, Shanghai (24).

Most prolific authors in Neurosciences research in China

Considering the prominent authors in Neurosciences research in China, 16 Chinese authors are identified as productive ones, who have published 39 and above papers during 1999-2008. Of these 16 authors, 3 are affiliated to Peking University, Beijing, 2 each with Fourth Military Medical Univ., Xi'an and Fudan University, Shanghai, and 1 each to other institutions. (Table 7).

These 16 authors together contributed 794 papers, accounting for 8.65% share in the cumulative publication output of China, with an average of 49.63 papers per author. However, the contribution of these authors witnessed decrease in their publication share from 13.66% in 1999-2003 to 7.08% in 2004-08. Seven Chinese authors have published higher number of papers than the group average (49.63 papers per author). These are L.Y. He with 74 papers during 1999-08), followed by Q.Y. Li (with 64 papers), T.L. Xu (with 58 papers), L.C. Yu (with 56 papers), J.S. Han (with 55 papers), G. Ju (with 53 papers) and G.C. Wu (with 52 papers) (Table 7).

Table 6: Research output, impact, International collaborative papers share and h- index of top institutions of China in Neurosciences during 1999-2008.

S.No. Name of Institution TP TC ACPP TICP % Share of TICP h-index
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
Chinese Univ. of Hong Kong, Hong Kong China
Peking Univ., Beijing
The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Fudan Univ., Shanghai
Capital Medical Univ. China, Beijing
Shanghai Jiaotong Univ., Shanghai
The Fourth Military Medical Univ., Xi'an
Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Guangzhou
Shanghai Inst. for Bilogical Sc. Chinese Acdemy of Sc., Shanghai
Huazhong Univ. of Sc. & Tech., Wuhan
China Medical Univ. Shenyang, Shenyang
Sun Yat–Sen Univ., Guangzhou
Univ. of Sc. & Technology, Hefei
Zhejiang Univ., Hangzhou
Sichuan Univ., Chengdu
831
669
628
466
317
312
302
294
247
228
214
213
205
189
176
3442
3012
2932
2098
1197
1267
1088
199
1333
1000
797
982
895
734
637
4.14
4.50
4.67
4.50
3.78
4.06
3.60
0.68
5.40
4.38
3.52
4.61
4.37
3.88
3.62
309
272
331
158
99
88
106
29
61
81
99
100
59
101
86
37.18
40.66
52.71
33.91
31.23
28.21
35.10
9.86
24.70
35.53
46.26
46.95
28.78
53.44
48.86
38
32
38
30
22
21
25
9
24
21
16
15
22
16
16
TP = Total Papers; TC = Total Citations; ACCP = Average Citations Per Paper

Table 7: Research output, impact and h-index of top productive authors of China in Neurosciences, 1999-2008

S.No. Name Affiliation TP TC ACPP h–
index
99–03 04–08 99–08 99–03 04–08 99–08
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
Lin YanHe
Y.Q Li
Tianle L. Xu
Long Chuan Yu
Jisheng Sheng Hans
Gong Ju
Gen Cheng Wu
Jian Zhong Ge
David T W Yew
Xiong Li Yang
Rui Qiong Wang
Tianzi Jiang
Jiang Ning Zhou
Yu Feng Zhang
Shihui Hans
Tao Yuan Li
Shanghai Institute for Biological Sciences, Shanghai
Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an
Institute of Neuroscience, Shanghai
Peking University, Beijing
Peking University, Beijing
The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi
Shanghai Medical College, Shanghai
Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat–sen University, Guangzhou
Department of Anatomy, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin
Fudan University, Shanghai
Institute of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Lanzhou
Institute of Automation, Beijing
School of Life Sciences, Hefei
Fu–Dan University, Shanghai
Peking University, Beijing
Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an
10
40
16
29
25
29
32
26
10
24
6
5
11
21
7
7
64
24
42
27
30
24
20
22
37
21
37
36
29
19
32
32
74
64
58
56
55
53
52
48
47
45
43
41
40
40
39
39
50
151
58
145
148
101
119
2
31
85
40
25
60
70
39
51
412
65
299
94
163
46
65
44
102
75
196
473
137
92
152
179
462
216
357
239
311
147
184
46
133
160
236
498
197
162
191
230
6.24
3.38
6.15
4.27
5.65
2.77
3.54
0.96
2.83
3.56
5.49
12.15
4.93
4.05
4.90
5.90
16
13
15
15
16
11
13
6
10
11
13
16
13
13
11
12

These combined publications output of these 16 most productive Chinese authors have received an average citations per paper of 4.75 citations per paper during 1999-2008, which rose from 3.94 citations per paper in 1999-2003 to 5.23 in 2004-2008. Eight Chinese authors have scored higher citations average per paper than the average citation per paper of all 16 authors (4.75 citations per paper). Among these authors, T. Jiang had registered the highest average citations per paper of 12.15, followed by L.Y. He (with 6.24 citations per paper), T.L. Xu (with 6.15 citations per paper), T.Y. Li (with 5.90 citations per paper), J.S. Han (with 5.65 citations per paper), R.Q. Wang (with 5.49 citations per paper), J.N. Zhou (with 4.93 citations per paper) and S. Han (with 4.90 citations per paper) (Table 7).

The average h-index value of these authors is 12.75. Ten authors registered higher h-index value than group average. The highest h-index value (16) is achieved by Jisheng Sheng Han, Lin Yan He and Tianzi Jian, followed by Long Chuan Yu and Tiangle L. Xu (each with h-index value of 15), Y.Q. Li, Gen Cheng Wu, Gen Wu, Qiang Wang Rui, Jiang Ning Zhou and, Yu Feng Zhang (each with h-index value of 13) (Table 7).

Research communication profile of high productive journals

The top productive 21 Chinese and foreign Journals together contributed 54.20% share in the cumulative publication output of China in Neurosciences during 1999-2008. Of these 21 journals, only 4 journals are of Chinese origin contributing 8.83% share and 17 are International journals contributing 45.37% share in the total publication productivity of China in Neurosciences. The cumulative share of these journals showed decrease in its share from 56.69% in 1999-2003 to 53.43% in 2004-2008. (Table 8).

Research patterns of high cited papers

The characteristics of selected highly cited papers of China in Neurosciences were also evaluated in this section and the list of such high-cited papers is presented in Table 9. Based on publication output of China in this area, 49 papers are identified as highly cited ones, who have received citations (since their publications till 30 October 2009) from 90 to 216 during 1999-2009. Of these 49 papers, 41 appeared as articles, 6 as reviews, and 2 as short surveys. Of the 49 high-cited papers, 73.47% involve international collaboration (26 bilateral and 10 multilateral) and 6.12% national collaboration.

These 49 papers together received 6210 citations with an average of 126.73 citations per paper. Of these 49 papers, 7 papers are in citation range of 161-250, 26 papers in citations range of 101-160 and 16 papers in citations range of 90-100. The authors of these high cited papers are affiliated to 32 Chinese institutions including 5 papers each from Dalian Medical University, Dalian and Institute of Neuroscience, Shanghai, 4 papers each form Fudan University, Shanghai and Fourth Military Medical university, Xi'an, 2 each from Peking University, Beijing, Univ. of Science & Technology and Wuhan, Hunan University, Changsha and 1 paper each from 29 other Chinese institutions. These 49 high cited papers have appeared in 25 journals, including 8 in Neuron, 7 in Neural Networks, 5 in Journal of Neuroscience, 3 in Journal of Neurochemistry & Biological Psychiatry, 2 each in Trends in Neurosciences, Annals of Neurology and Nature Neuroscience and 1 paper each in 17 other journals.

Table 8: List of highly productive journals publishing papers of China in Neuroscience, 1999-2008.

S.No. Journal Name   Total Papers  
    1999-2008 1999-03 2004-08
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
Total
Neuroscience Letters
Brain Research
Yan Ke Xue Bao Eye Science Yan Ke Xue Bao Bian Ji Bu
Neurocomputing
European Journal of Pharmacology
Neural Regeneration Research
Neuroreport
Neuroscience
Peptides
Neuroscience Bulletin
Journal of Neuroscience Research
Journal of Neurochemistry
Chinese Journal of Contemporary Neurology and Neurosurgery
Journal of Neuroscience
Neurochemical Research
Brain Research Bulletin
European Journal of Neuroscience
Neurological Research
Chinese Journal of Neuroscience
Neuroscience Research
Regulatory Peptides
4978
751
582
383
377
367
314
295
251
225
208
148
136
124
117
114
107
106
99
96
89
89
1237
206
179
246
28
86
0
104
68
48
0
31
24
0
23
20
36
28
11
49
25
25
3741
545
403
137
349
281
314
191
183
177
208
117
112
124
94
166
71
78
88
47
64
64

Table 9: List of top 49 highly cited papers, 1999-2008

Author Title Source title Cited by Affiliation Collaboration


Gao H.-M., Jiang J.etal
Microglial activation-mediated delayed and progressive degeneration of rat nigral dopaminergic neurons: Relevance to Parkinson's disease Journal of Neurochemistry,2002,81(6) 216 Dalian Medical University, Department of Physiology, Dalian, China BC
Chen Z., Sandercock P.,etal Indications for early aspirin use in acute ischemic stroke: A combined analysis of 40 000 randomized patients from the Chinese Acute Stroke Trial and the Int ernational Stroke Trial Stroke, 2000,31(6) 214 Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China BC
Liao X., Chen G., Sanchez E.N. Delay-dependent exponential stability analysis of delayed neural networks: An LMI approach Neural Networks,
2002,15(7)
210 Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing MC
Feng R., Rampon C.,etal Deficient neurogenesis in forebrain-specific presenilin-1 knockout mice is associated with reduced clearance of hippocampal memory traces Neuron, 2001,32(5) 189 Shanghai Institute of Brain Functional Genomics, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China MC
George M.S., Nahas Z.,etal A controlled trial of daily left prefrontal cortex TMS for treating depression Biological Psychiatry, 2000,48(10) 181 Department of Psychiatry, Shangdong Medical University, Jinan, China; BC
Arnsten A.F.T., Li B. -M. Neurobiology of executive functions: Catecholamine influences on prefrontal cortical functions Biological Psychiatry, 2005,57(11) 178 Institute of Neurobiology, Fudan University, Shanghai, China; BC
Han J.-S. Acupuncture: Neuropeptide release produced by electrical stimulation of different frequencies Trends in Neurosciences, 2003,26(1) 162 Neuroscience Research Institute, Peking University, 38 Xue Yuan Road, Beijing 100083, China ZC
Wemmie J.A., Chen J., etal The acid-activated ion channel ASIC contributes to synaptic plasticity, learning, and memory Neuron, 2002,34(3) 160 University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China; BC
Duan S.,
Anderson C.M., etal
P2X7 receptor-mediated release of excitatory amino acids from astrocytes Journal of Neuroscience, 2003,23(4) 158 Institute of Neuroscience, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 320 Yue-yang Road, Shanghai 200031, China BC
Zhang J.-M., Wang H.-K., etal ATP Released by Astrocytes Mediates Glutamatergic Activity - Dependent Heterosynaptic Suppression Neuron, 2003,40(5) 157 Institute of Neuroscience, Shanghai Institutes for Biol. Sci., Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, BC
Zhang H., Craciun L.C.,etal PIP2 activates KCNQ channels, and its hydrolysis underlies receptor-mediated inhibition of M currents Neuron, 2003,37(6) 153 Basic Medical Research Institute, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China BC
Gao H.-M., Hong J.-S., etal Distinct role for microglia in rotenone-induced degeneration of dopaminergic neurons Journal of Neuroscience, 2002,22(3) 151 Department of Physiology, Dalian Medical University, Dalian 116027, China; BC
Dong H.-W., Petrovich G.D., etal Topography of projections from amygdala to bed nuclei of the stria terminalis Brain Research Reviews, 2001,38(2) 150 Institute of Neuroscience, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shannxi 710032, China; BC
Huang Y.Z., Won S.,etal Regulation of neuregulin signaling by PSD-95 interacting with ErbB4 at CNS synapses Neuron, 2000,26(2) 150 Laboratory of Molecular Neurobiology, Institute of Neuroscience, Shanghai Research Center of Life Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China; MC
Chen Z.-Y., Patel P.D., etal Variant Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) (Met66) Alters the Intracellular Trafficking and Activity -Dependent Secretion of Wild-Type BDNF in Neurosecretory Cells and Cortical Neurons Journal of Neuroscience, 2004,24(18) 149 Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China; BC
Ho T.W., Willison H.J., etal Anti-GD1a antibody is associated with axonal but not demyelinating forms of Guillain-Barre syndrome Annals of Neurology,1999,45(2) 145 Department of Neurology, Second Teaching Hospital, Hebei Medical School, Shijiazhuang, China; MC
Wang L., Zou X. Exponential stability of Cohen-Grossberg neural networks Neural Networks, 2002,15(3) 144 College of Mathematics and Econometrics, Hunan University, Changsha, Hunan 410082, China; BC
Chen T. Global exponential stability of delayed Hopfield neural networks Neural Networks, 2001,14(8) 132 Lab. of Nonlinear Mathematics Science, Institute of Mathematics, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, China ZC
Zhang J., Jin X. Global stability analysis in delayed Hopfie ld neural network models Neural Networks, 2000,13(7) 132 Traction Power National Laboratory, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 610031, China ZC
Benazzouz A., Gao D.M., Ni Z.G., Piallat B., Bouali- BenazzouzR., Benabid A.L. Effect of high-frequency stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus on the neuronal activities of the substantia nigra pars reticulata and ventrolateral nucleus of the thalamus in the rat Neuroscience, 2000,99(2) 128 Department of Physiology, Jinzhou Med. Coll., 121002 Liaoning, Jinzhou, China BC
Tang Y.L., Zhao Q., etal Autologous mesenchymal stem cell transplantation induce VEGF and neovascularization in ischemic myocardium Regulatory Peptides, 2004,117(1) 124 Shanghai Cardiovasc. Dis. Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China; BC
Xiang Y., Li Y., etal Nerve growth cone guidance mediated by G protein -coupled receptors Nature Neuroscience, 2002,5(9) 121 Institute of Neuroscience, Shanghai Inst. of Biol. Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 320 Yue-yang Road, Shanghai 200031, China ZC
Li H., Li S.-H., etal Huntingtin aggregate-associated axonal degeneration is an early pathological event in Huntington's disease mice Journal of Neuroscience, 2001,21(21) 118 Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China; MC
Hommel J.D., Trinko R., etal Leptin Receptor Signaling in Midbrain Dopamine Neurons Regulates Feeding Neuron, 2006,51(6) 116 Department of Neurobiology, Yunyang Medical College, Shiyan, Hubei 442000, China; BC
Cao J., Wang J. Absolute exponential stability of recurrent neural networks with Lipschitz-continuous activation functions and time delays Neural Networks, 2004,17(3) 116 Department of Mathematics, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096 Jiangsu, China; BC
Hertz L., Zielke H.R. Astrocytic control of glutamatergic activity: Astrocytes as stars of the show rends in Neurosciences, 2004,27(12) 114 College of Basic Medical Sciences, China Medical University, Shenyang, P.R. China; BC
Zhu C., Qiu L., etal Involvement of apoptosis-inducing factor in neuronal death after hypoxia-ischemia in the neonatal rat brain Journal of Neurochemistry, 2003,86(2) 114 Perinatal Center, Department of Physiology, Göteborg University, Göteborg, Sweden; Department of Pediatrics, Third Affil. Hosp. Zhengzhou Univ., Zhengzhou, China; MC
Chen Y., Lu J., etal Association between genetic variation of CACNA1H and childhood absence epilepsy Annals of Neurology, 2003,54(2) 107 Department of Pediatrics, First Hospital of Peking University, Beijing 100034, China; NC
Fan J.-B., Zhang C.-S., etal Catechol-O-methyltransferase gene Val/Met functional polymorphism and risk of schizophrenia: A large -scale association study plus meta-analysis Biological Psychiatry, 2005,57(2) 105 Institute for Nutritional Sciences, SIBS, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Bio-X Life Science Research Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University; Shanghai Institute of Mental Health, Shanghai, China; NC
Li Y., Cichocki A., Amari S.-I. Analysis of sparse representation and blind source separation Neural Computation, 2004,16(6) 105 Southchina University of Technology, Guangzhou, China; BC
Dong H.-W., Petrovich G.D., etal Basic organization of projections from the oval and fusiform nuclei of the bed nuclei of the stria terminalis in adult rat brain Journal of Comparative
Neurology, 2001,436(4)
104 Institute of Neuroscience, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shannxi 710032, China; BC
Liu B., Wang K., etal Molecular consequences of activated microglia in the brain: Overactivation induces apoptosis Journal of Neurochemistry, 2001,77(1) 103 Dalian Medical University, Department of Physiology, Dalian, China MC
Zhao M.-G., Toyoda H., etal Roles of NMDA NR2B subtype receptor in prefrontal long -term potentiation and contextual fear memory Neuron, 2005,47(6) 101 Laboratory of Higher Brain Functions, Institute of Neurobiology, Fudan University, 220 Han-Dan Road, Shanghai MC
Han J.-S. Acupuncture and endorphins Neuroscience Letters, 2004,361(3) 99 Neuroscience Research Institute, Peking University, Ministry of Education, 38 Xue-Yuan Road, Beijing 100083, China ZC
Gao H.-M., Hong J.-S.,etal Synergistic dopaminergic neurotoxicity of the pesticide rotenone and inflammogen lipopolysaccharide: Relevance to the etiology of Parkinson's disease Journal of Neuroscience, 2003,23(4) 98 Department of Physiology, Dalian Medical University, Dalian 116027, China; BC
Maness P.F., Schachner M. Neural recognition molecules of the immunoglobulin superfamily: Signaling transducers of axon guidance and neuronal migration Nature Neuroscience, 2007,10(1) 97 Sino-German Center for Neuroscience, Dalian Medical University, Dalian 116011, Liaoning Province, China MC
Lu H. On stability of nonlinear continuous-time neural networks with delays Neural Networks, 2000,13(10) 97 Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai 200030, China ZC
Chen J., Luo C., etal Primary hyperalgesia to mechanical and heat stimuli following subcutaneous been venom injection into the plantar surface of hindpaw in the conscious rat: A comparative study with the formalin test Pain, 1999,83(1) 96 Dept. Anat. K.K. Leung Brain Res. C., Fourth Mil. Med. University, 710032, Xi'an, China ZC
Mu J.-S., Li W.-P., etal Deprivation of endogenous brain-derived neurotrophic factor results in impairment of spatial learning and memory in adult rats Brain Research, 1999,835(2) 95 Department of Neurology, Nanfang Hosp., First Mil. Med. U., Guangzhou, China; Department of Anatomy, Sun Yet -Sen Univ. of Med. Sciences, Guangzhou, China; BC
Zhang Z.-J., Yao Z.-J., etal Effects of antipsychotics on fat deposition and changes in leptin and insulin levels: Magnetic resonance imaging study of previously untreated people with schizophrenia British Journal of Psychiatry, 2004,184(1) 94 Department of Radiological Science, Nanjing Brain Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China; BC
Jiang J.-Y., Yu M.-K., Zhu C. Effect of long-term mild hypothermia therapy in patients with severe traumatic brain injury: 1-Year follow-up review of 87 cases Journal of Neurosurgery, 2000,93(4) 94 Department of Neurosurgery, Chang Zheng Hospital, 415 Feng Yang Road, Shanghai 200003, China ZC
Luo Z.G., Wang Q., etal Regulation of AChR clustering by Dishevelled interacting with MuSK and PAK1 Neuron, 2002,35(3) 93 Institute of Neuroscience, Shanghai Institutes of Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China; BC
Halberg F., Cornelissen G., etal Cross-spectrally coherent ~ 10.5- and 21-year biological and physical cycles, magnetic storms and myocardial infarctions Neuroendocrinology Letters, 2000,21(3) 93 Institute of Materia Medica, Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan, China; MC
Booth J.R., Burman D.D., etal Neural development of selective attention and response inhibition NeuroImage, 2003,20(2) 92 MRI Research Center, 306 Hospital, Beijing, China; BC
Song P., Zhao Z.-Q. The involvement of glial cells in the development of morphine tolerance Neuroscience Research, 2001,39(3) 92 Shanghai Institute of Physiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 320 Yue-Yang Road, Shanghai 200031, China; NC
Lam D.S.C., Houang E., etal Incidence and risk factors for microbial keratitis in Hong Kong: Comparison with Europe and North America Eye, 2002,16(5) 91 Dept. Ophthalmology/Visual Sciences, Prince of Wales/Hong Kong Eye Hosp., The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China ZC
Zhang J.-Y., Luo X.-G., etal Endogenous BDNF is required for myelination and regeneration of injured sciatic nerve in rodents European Journal of Neuroscience, 2000,12(12) 91 Department of Anatomy, Hunan Medical University, Changsha, Hunan, China; BC
Risedal A., Zeng J., Johansson B.B. Early training may exacerbate brain damage after focal brain ischemia in the rat Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism, 1999,19(9) 91 Department of Neurology, First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen Univ. of Med. Sciences, Guangzhou, China; BC
Zhao, H. Global asymptotic stability of Hopfield neural network involving distributed delays Neural Networks 17 (1), 90 Department of Mathematics, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China ZC

Conclusion

China published 9184 papers in Neurosciences during 1999-08, compared to 7850 papers by Brazil, 5725 papers by South Korea and 4503 papers by India during the same period. China ranks at 12th position among the top 26 countries in Neurology, with its global publication share of 2.03% during 1999-08. Compared to China, Brazil, South Korea and India ranks at 15th, 18th and 21st position, with global publication share of 1.74%, 1.24% and 0.99% during 1999-08. China witnessed rise in global publication share from 0.86% in 1999 to 4.79% in 2008. Correspondingly, China's world ranking improved from 21st position in 1999 to 8th position in 2008.

In terms of impact and quality, the average citations per paper registered by China's publication output during 1999-06 were 7.24. Compared to China, only South Korea publications have registered higher impact of 8.29 instead of Brazil (5.99) and India (4.21) for their publications during the same period.

The cumulative publication output of China accounts for 39.69 % share of international collaborative papers during 1999-2008. China has shown the decrease in its share of internationally collaborative papers from 40.74% in 1999-2003 to 39.36% in 2004-2008. Among the collaborative countries, USA is the major collaborator with China during 1999-08, followed by Japan, Taiwan, Canada, Germany, Sweden, Australia, France, etc.

The cumulative publication output of 15 most productive institutions in China's total research output in Neuroscience during 1999-2008 was 5291 papers (57.61% of the China's total output in this field) with the growth rate of 179.01% for the papers published from 1999-2003 to 2004-2008. These 15 Institutions have registered an average impact of 4.08 citations per paper and an average h-index value of 23. They have contributed 37.40% share of international collaborative papers in their total publication output during 1999-08.

The 16 most productive Chinese authors in Neuroscience field together contributed 794 papers, with an average of 49.63 papers per author, received an average of 4.75 citations per paper and average h-index of 12.75 per author.

The total publication output of top 21 productive journals together contributed 54.20% share to the total publication output of China in Neurosciences during 1999-2008.

Of the 49 high-cited papers, 73.47% involve international collaboration (26 bilateral and 10 multilateral) and 6.12% national collaboration. The top 49 highly cited papers in Neurosciences from China had scored higher impact with 126.73 citations per paper. These 49 high-cited papers have appeared in 25 journals and are affiliated to 32 Chinese Institutions.

Competing interests – None, Source of Funding - None
Received Date : 24 Nov. 2009; Revised Date : 5 May 2010
Accepted Date : 8 June 2010

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