Neuropragmatics: A scientometric review

Abstract

Neuropragmatics investigates brain functions and neural activities responsible for pragmatic language abilities, often impaired in disorders such as hemisphere damage, autism, schizophrenia, and neurodegenerative disorders. This study examined the development of neuropragmatics and existing neuroimaging evidence using bibliometric and scientometric indicators, analyzing 4,247 documents published between 1967 and 2022 with CiteSpace and VOSviewer. Our cluster analysis revealed key themes. 1) Language comprehension loss due to brain injury: Studies exploring the impact of brain injuries on language comprehension and underlying neural mechanisms. 2) Right hemisphere damage and pragmatic language skills: Research focusing on the relationship between right hemisphere damage and pragmatic language abilities, investigating impairments in social language use and potential neural correlates. 3) Traumatic brain injury and social communication assessment: Research on traumatic brain injury effects on social communication skills, using various assessment tools to evaluate communication effectiveness in social situations. These clusters provide valuable insights into the neuropragmatics field and serve as a framework for future investigations. By building upon existing knowledge, researchers can improve our understanding of brain functions, language behavior, and enhance rehabilitation for individuals with pragmatic language impairments.

Keywords:

• Brain injury
• imaging techniques
• neuropragmatics
• pragmatics
• right hemisphere damage
• scientometric review

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Informed consent statement

Neither human nor nonhuman subjects were involved directly in this research. Therefore, informed consent was not required.

Data availability statement

The data presented in this study are available on request from the first author.

Additional information

Funding

The research was funded by King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, under the research project RSP2023/R251.‎