Abstract
BackgroundCannabis, cannabinoids and endocannabinoids are heavily investigated topics with many articles published every year. We aimed to identify the 100 most cited manuscripts among the vast literature and analyze their contents.MethodsWeb of Science (WoS) Core Collection was searched to identify the 100 most cited relevant manuscripts, which were analyzed with reference to (1) authorship, (2) institution, (3) country, (4) document type, (5) journal, (6) publication year, (7) WoS category, and (8) citation count. Semantic content and citation data of the manuscripts were analyzed with VOSviewer.ResultsThe most cited manuscripts were published between 1986 and 2016, with the majority being published in the 2000s (n = 51). The number of citations for the top 100 articles ranged from 469 to 3651, with a median citation count of 635.5. The most prolific authors were Vincenzo Di Marzo (n = 11) and Daniele Piomelli (n = 11). The major contributing countries were USA (n = 49), Italy (n = 22), UK (n = 19), and France (n = 11). The most prolific institutions were University of California (n = 14), National Research Council of Italy (n = 12) and National Institutes of Health USA (n = 12). The manuscripts consisted of original articles (n = 75), reviews (n = 24) and a note (n = 1). The most dominant journal was Nature (n = 15). The major WoS categories associated were Multidisciplinary sciences (n = 31), Neurosciences (n = 20), Pharmacology / Pharmacy (n = 16), and General / Internal Medicine (n = 11).ConclusionsThe top-ranked manuscripts among the 100 were concerning analgesia, weight loss, long-term potentiation, depolarization-induced suppression of inhibition, opiates and other topics. Cannabinoid type 1 (CB1) receptor was studied by more of the top 100 papers in comparison to cannabinoid type 2 (CB2) receptor. The most frequently mentioned chemicals in these publications were 2-arachidonoylglycerol, tetrahydrocannabinol, and anandamide. Together, these manuscripts comprise the most highly cited publications in the topic, literally the molecular neuroscience at its “high”.
Highlights
Cannabis, cannabinoids and endocannabinoids are heavily investigated topics with many articles published every year
The euphoriant effect of cannabinoids derived from cannabis is attributed to their interactions with the mammalian endogenous cannabinoid system; stimulation of the endocannabinoid system may lead to effects such as perceptual alterations, impaired psychomotor performance, and tachycardia (Ashton 2001)
The endocannabinoid system consists of G proteincoupled cannabinoid receptors, cannabinoid type 1 (CB1) and type 2 (CB2) receptors, and endogenous lipid-based neurotransmitters, known as the endocannabinoids, that target these receptors in central and peripheral nervous systems (Pertwee 2015)
Summary
Cannabinoids and endocannabinoids are heavily investigated topics with many articles published every year. The euphoriant effect of cannabinoids derived from cannabis is attributed to their interactions with the mammalian endogenous cannabinoid system; stimulation of the endocannabinoid system may lead to effects such as perceptual alterations, impaired psychomotor performance, and tachycardia (Ashton 2001). Endocannabinoids are important lipid messengers that regulate synaptic transmission and neurotransmitter release in the brain (Piomelli 2003). Research findings have hinted that there could be additional CB receptors; one candidate of such is GPR55, which was discovered by O’Dowd and his co-workers in 1999 (Sawzdargo et al 1999) and later found to be activated by various cannabinoids (Ryberg et al 2007). Other candidates may exist, though there is still to be a consensus (Rodriguez de Fonseca and Schneider 2008)
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