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SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article

Front. Neurol.

Sec. Applied Neuroimaging

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fneur.2025.1539995

This article is part of the Research TopicBrain Metabolic Imaging by Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Spectroscopy: Methods and Clinical Applications Volume IIView all 6 articles

Research trend of functional magnetic resonance imaging in diabetes mellitus research: a visualization and bibliometric analysis

Provisionally accepted
Zong  Bo SunZong Bo Sun1Yuanyuan  LiYuanyuan Li2Xueli  QuXueli Qu2Luguang  WangLuguang Wang3Shengyin  ZhuShengyin Zhu3Xuejing  SunXuejing Sun2Li  YangLi Yang2*Xiaonan  SunXiaonan Sun3*
  • 1Liaocheng University, Liaocheng, Shandong Province, China
  • 2Dongchangfu District Maternal and Child Health Hospital, Dongcheng, China
  • 3Dongchangfu District People's Hospital, Liaocheng, Shandong Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Background: Understanding the neurological complications associated with diabetes mellitus is essential for developing comprehensive treatment strategies. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is a powerful tool for investigating brain functional and structural changes associated with various conditions, including diabetes mellitus.Objectives: To analyze the application trends, research hotspots, and emerging frontiers of fMRI in diabetes mellitus research through a comprehensive bibliometric analysis.Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted utilizing the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) database. Bibliometric tools, including VOSviewer (version 1.6.20), CiteSpace (version 6.3.R1), and R (version 4.3.3), were employed for data analysis.Results: A total of 706 articles about fMRI and diabetes mellitus were published from 1987 to 2024. The United States of America (USA) ranks first (n=931), followed by China (n=756) and Germany (n=270) regarding total publications. Harvard University ranks first in terms of total publications. Among the top ten institutions regarding publications, the majority of articles originated from the USA. The journal Diabetes has the highest number of publications. The author SHAO YI ranks first in total publications, while FRITSCHE ANDREAS ranks first in total citations. The top five keywords identified are “dementia,” “risk,” “brain,” “Alzheimer’s disease,” and “functional connectivity”. Keyword burst analysis indicates that the recent research hotspots included “impairment,” “dysfunction,” and “diagnosis.”Conclusion: Cognitive impairment and dysfunction related to diabetes mellitus, along with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, and their diagnosis were identified as focal areas of research. Future investigations should concentrate on predicting and early diagnosing cognitive function in patients with diabetes mellitus using fMRI. The findings of this study provide a valuable reference for researchers and clinicians seeking to explore the neurological dimensions of diabetes mellitus and develop targeted therapeutic approaches.

Keywords: Diabetes Mellitus, Bibliometrics, VOSviewer, Citespace, functional magnetic resonance imaging

Received: 05 Dec 2024; Accepted: 04 Aug 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Sun, Li, Qu, Wang, Zhu, Sun, Yang and Sun. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence:
Li Yang, Dongchangfu District Maternal and Child Health Hospital, Dongcheng, China
Xiaonan Sun, Dongchangfu District People's Hospital, Liaocheng, Shandong Province, China

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