The most cited works in Tourette syndrome.

The impact of scientific articles is proportional to the citations they have received. In this study, the most cited works ("citation classics") related to Tourette syndrome (TS) were identified as articles with more than 100 citations according to the Web of Science. We retrieved 89 highly cited articles, which were published in 26 journals: 54 clinical studies, 27 laboratory studies, 7 reviews, and 1 classification article. Clinical studies consisted of phenomenologic evaluations of TS and comorbid behavioral problems (n = 22) and studies on pharmacotherapy (n = 16) and clinical genetics (n = 13), whereas laboratory studies covered basic genetics, cellular and molecular biology (n = 11), and neurobiology (neuroimaging, neuropathology, and neurophysiology) (n = 16). The majority (58%) of citation classics were published after 1990, when laboratory studies (especially neuroimaging, immunologic, and genetic studies) became widely cited. These articles are able to reach the highest numbers of citations in a short time span and suggest potential directions for future research.