The analysis reveals that this research field is in a period of rapid expansion, with technology-assisted rehabilitation as the dominant trend and robot-assisted training and virtual reality as the two major technological keywords; most related studies focus on upper limb rehabilitation. Burst literature analysis revealed three hotspot phases, with the recent phase (2020 to present) covering neuromodulation (brain-computer interface and non-invasive brain stimulation), global disease burden and public health policy.
Highly cited studies have focused on comparative efficacy, robot-assisted training, brain-computer interfaces, vagus nerve stimulation and the prediction of rehabilitation outcomes, which form the current mainstream research directions. The authors note that research on post-stroke motor disorders and functional recovery is shifting from evidence-based integration toward deep integration of neuromodulation and intelligent rehabilitation.