The Most-Cited Works in Epilepsy

Background: The impact of a scientific article is proportional to the citations it has received. The identification of the most-cited works in a scientific field can help evaluate current research trends. Methods: According to the Web of Science database, articles with more than 400 citations qualify as “citation classics.” We conducted a search on the ISI Web of Science bibliometric database for scientific articles relevant to epilepsy. Results: We retrieved 67 highly-cited articles (400 or more citations), which were published in 31 journals: 17 clinical studies, 42 laboratory studies, 5 reviews, and 3 classification article. Clinical studies consisted of epidemiological analyses (n=3), studies on the clinical phenomenology of epilepsy, including behavioral and prognostic aspects (n=5), and articles focusing on pharmacological (n=6) and non-pharmacological (n=3) treatment. The laboratory studies dealt with genetics (n=6), animal models (n=27), and neurobiology (n=9). The majority (61%) of citation classics on epilepsy were published after 1986, possibly reflecting the expansion of research interest in laboratory studies, driven by the development of new methodologies in the fields of genetics and animal models. Consequently, clinical studies were highly cited both before and after the mid-80s, while laboratory researches became widely cited after 1990. Conclusions: The main drivers of scientific impact in the field of epileptology have increasingly become genetic and neurobiological studies, along with research on animal models of epilepsy. These articles are characterized by high numbers of citations in relatively short time-spans and suggest potential directions for future research.