TITLE:
Visual Analysis of Research on N400 in the Past Decade Based on CiteSpace
AUTHORS:
Yuanxing Dou, Soikei Li
KEYWORDS:
N400, Event-Related Potentials (ERP), Semantic Processing, Bibliometric Analysis, CiteSpace, Research Trend, Cross-Language Research
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Access Library Journal,
Vol.13 No.7,
July
27,
2026
ABSTRACT: As a classic event-related potential (ERP) component closely associated with semantic processing, the N400 has long been a core research topic in cognitive neuroscience. To clarify the research status, evolutionary trends and hotspots of N400 studies over the past decade, this study conducted a bibliometric and visual analysis based on 2166 articles retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection (2016-May 2026) using CiteSpace. We systematically analyzed annual publication trends, keyword co-occurrence, clustering, keyword bursts and thematic evolution. The results revealed that the number of publications on N400 presented a fluctuating upward trend, and the research field maintained high academic vitality. The overall research system formed a three-tier structure consisting of basic neural mechanisms, core linguistic application and frontier exploratory research. Research hotspots gradually shifted from classic semantic violation and semantic integration paradigms to cross-language processing (especially Chinese), word frequency effects, brain network dynamics and cognitive aging in older adults. Thematic evolution showed an obvious tendency of multi-dimensional and interdisciplinary integration. This study objectively maps the overall landscape of contemporary N400 research. Limitations and future research directions are also discussed, providing references for subsequent exploration on the neural mechanisms of human semantic construction.