Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria , 80 years: part 2 (1963–1982)

TL;DR

This paper analyzes the publication trends of a Brazilian neurology and psychiatry journal from 1963 to 1982, highlighting changes in authorship and content.

Contribution

The study reveals shifts in authorship diversity and research focus during Brazil's military dictatorship era.

Findings

There was a significant increase in the number of authors per article and female authors.

The number of pages per article decreased significantly.

Most articles were on Neurology/Child Neurology, with a rise in basic research and decline in psychiatry papers.

Abstract

Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria
(ANP) celebrated 80 years in 2023. We have previously evaluated the publication trends throughout the first 20 years.

To analyze the publication trends, authorship, and editorial patterns of the volumes 21 to 40 of ANP (1983–1962).

Data were tabulated independently by two blinded researchers and cross-verified by independent researchers and automated data extraction technology (Python script).

From 1963 to 1982, 20 volumes, 80 issues, and 904 articles were published. In 1970, ANP became the official journal of Academia Brasileira de Neurologia (ABN, the Brazilian Academy of Neurology). We analyzed 795 articles (and excluded non-research papers). Compared to the first 20 years, there was a significant increase in the total number of authors per article (2.73;
p
 < 0.05), a significant increase in the percentage of female authors (to 10.96%;
p
 < 0.05), and a decrease in the number of pages per article (
p
 < 0.05). Antonio Spina-França, Walter Carlos Pereira, and Michel Pierre Lison were the most prolific authors. Most of the articles were on the topics of Neurology/Child Neurology, with a decrease in the percentage of Psychiatry papers and an increase in Basic Research contributions. There was also a linear increase in the total number of articles from 1963 to 1982, as detected by regression analysis (R
2
 = 0.86;
p
 < 0.0001). Most of the articles were written in Portuguese and by authors from Southeastern Brazil (71.1%).

The years 1963 to 1982 marked the resilience of ANP during the tempestuous years of the Brazilian Military dictatorship, coinciding with an increased split between the Neurology and Psychiatry fields, the appearance of clinical trials and large case series, and a greater development in the understanding of neuroinfectious diseases.

Figures