Challenges and Trends in Neuroscience and Women’s Mental Health: A Bibliometric Approach

Abstract

Neuroscience and mental health have experienced exponential growth in recent decades, becoming key areas for understanding human well-being and the mechanisms that regulate behavior, cognition, and emotions. Women’s mental health, in particular, deserves special attention, as it reveals challenges arising from the interaction of biological dimensions (hormones, reproductive cycle, aging), psychological aspects (stress, emotional regulation, resilience), and social factors (stigma, inequitable access to services, gender roles). Therefore, this study seeks to answer the question: What challenges emerge in the field of neuroscience and women’s mental health based on the co-occurrence network analysis of terms in scientific production? To address this, we analyzed the co-occurrence network of 2,845 conceptual terms defined by 2,561 authors. The results identified four major clusters: Cluster 1: Neuroplasticity, sex hormones, and women’s mental health. Cluster 2: Epidemiology, treatment, and social barriers in psychosis and women’s mental health. Cluster 3: Clinical care, diagnosis, and mental health policies for women. Cluster 4: Neural circuits, neuroimaging, and innovative therapies in depression and women’s emotional regulation. The findings open new research gaps that may be further explored through quantitative approaches, such as structural equation modeling, to formalize these clusters into new constructs.