Trends in the Top-Cited Articles on Classic Psychedelics
Abstract
This study was designed to identify trends in the top-cited classic psychedelic publications. The top 50 publications on classic psychedelics with the greatest total of number of citations and annual citation rate were identified and pooled. Unique articles (n = 76) were dichotomized by median year of publication (2010.5); the differential distribution of study characteristics between the “Recent Cohort” (n = 38) and “Older Cohort” (n = 38) were documented. The Recent Cohort had a greater annual citation rate (median 76.0, IQR 38.5 to 101.5) compared to the Older Cohort (median10.0, IQR 5.2 to 19.3, p < .001). The Recent Cohort included a greater number of clinical studies (n = 26 [68.4%] vs. n = 9 [23.7%]) while the Older Cohort included more basic science and preclinical studies (n = 21 [55.3%] vs. n = 2 [5.3%], p < .001). Psilocybin was the predominant psychedelic studied in the Recent Cohort (n = 25 [65.8%] vs. n = 9 [23.7%]) while lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) was predominantly studied in the Older Cohort (n = 25 [65.8%] vs. n = 18 [47.4%], p = .013). The Recent Cohort included more studies examining affective disorders (n = 15 [39.5%] vs. n = 3 [7.9%]) and substance use disorders (n = 6 [15.8%] vs. n = 0 [0.0%]), while the Older Cohort included a greater number of pharmacological outcomes (n = 29 [76.3%] vs. n = 6 [15.8%], p < .001). This study identified and documented trends in the top-cited classic psychedelic publications. The field is continuing to form a foundational understanding of the pharmacological effects of psychedelics and is now advancing with the identification of therapeutic uses within clinical populations.
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Analysis of the literature in the past decade shows a shift in emphasis from preclinical studies especially of LSD towards more clinical applications, especially involving psilocybin.
“Analysis of the literature in the past decade shows a shift in emphasis from preclinical studies especially of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) (1) towards more clinical applications, especially involving psilocybin (2) [4].”
From Molecular and Functional Imaging Studies of Psychedelic Drug Action in Animals and Humans. (2021) · cites this paper as [4]
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- Authors
- Lawrence, D. W., Sharma, B., Griffiths, R. R., & Carhart-Harris, R.
- Affiliations
- Mount Sinai Hospital (CA)
- University of Toronto (CA)
- Johns Hopkins University (US)
- Imperial College London (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Lawrence, David Wyndham
- Venue
- Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2021-02-03
- Volume
- 53
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 283-298
- ISSN
- 0279-1072 (ISSN-L)
- 2159-9777
- OpenAlex
- W3127644232
- Cited by
- 35
- References
- 36
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 4
- FWCI
- 4.61
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Psychoactive Drugs (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychedelics and Drug Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Psychology Research and Bibliometrics
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Statistics, Probability and Uncertainty › scientometrics and bibliometrics research
- Keywords
- classic psychedelics, psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide, citation trends, research trends, psychedelic therapy, mood disorders, substance use disorders
- MeSH terms
- Hallucinogens, Humans, Lysergic Acid Diethylamide, Psilocybin, Substance-Related Disorders
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