Clinical Frontiers in Psychedelic Research: A Scientometric Review of the Evolving Literature
R. Cavallaro, A. Carollo, O. Corazza, G. Esposito
Emerging Trends in Drugs Addictions and Health December 1, 2025 DOI: 10.1016/j.etdah.2025.100206 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Scientometric analysis (document co-citation analysis) Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | 1,664 Scopus documents published 1964-2025 and their 113,612 cited references |
| Key points | The analysis identifies 81 key publications and ten thematic clusters, indicating that clinical psychedelic research centers on LSD therapy, ketamine for treatment-resistant depression, psychedelic neurophysiology, and the treatment of depression, anxiety, and substance use disorders, with growing attention to psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy and persistent ethical, methodological, and legislative challenges. |
Abstract
Introduction: Psychedelics have long been used in spiritual and medicinal contexts. Recently, growing scientific interest, driven by preliminary evidence of clinical efficacy, has renewed focus on their therapeutic potential. This study explores the historical evolution of clinical psychedelic research using a scientometric approach.
Methods: We downloaded 1664 documents from Scopus, covering the period from 1964 to 2025. Subsequently, we performed a document co-citation analysis on their 113,612 cited references to identify influential publications and thematic domains.
Results: Co-citation analysis revealed 81 key publications and ten thematic clusters, addressing topics such as the therapeutic use of LSD, the application of ketamine for treatment-resistant depression, the neurophysiological effects of psychedelics, and their implication in the treatment of depression, anxiety, and substance use disorders. The role of psychedelics also emerged within emerging therapeutic approaches, such as psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, combining psychotherapeutic techniques with controlled administration of psychedelics. The analysis further highlighted recent key methodological, legislative, and ethical challenges associated with clinical implementation.
Conclusions: This study highlights the main thematic domains of research in the scientific literature on the clinical use of psychedelics. Findings suggest a strong focus on incorporating psychedelics in treating anxiety, depression, and substance use disorder, alongside persistent ethical concerns.