Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) research in Indian psychiatry: A bibliometric analysis.

Background: There has been a consistent increase in the use of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in psychiatric practice and academic research in India. However, no systematic effort has been made to map the trajectory of clinical research involving tDCS within Indian institutions. Methods: PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar were systematically searched for tDCS studies with Indian affiliations published until May 2025. Results: Data on study design, diagnosis, stimulation parameters, authorship, institutions, and funding were analyzed. A total of 106 studies were included. Most publications were case reports (37.4%), followed by interventional studies (27.1%) and randomized controlled trials (26.2%). Schizophrenia (36.4%) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) (10.3%) were the most studied conditions. The left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) was the most targeted site (53.8%). Conventional tDCS was used in 57.5% of studies. Conclusion: Indian tDCS research in psychiatry is increasing but remains limited compared to global trends.