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ketamine

·December 17, 2024·6 min read

Ketamine Reduces “Giving Up” by Targeting Brain Support Cells

Researchers have found that ketamine’s antidepressant effects target astroglia, a type of brain support cell, rather than neurons, challenging conventional views. Using zebrafish, scientists observed that ketamine suppressed the “giving up” behavior caused by futility signals, an effect linked to astroglial activation.

This shows the molecular structure for ketamine.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·November 14, 2024·7 min read

“Lifesaving” Low-Dose Ketamine Unlocks Rapid Relief for Depression

Researchers have identified how low-dose ketamine alleviates depression by selectively targeting specific NMDA receptors in the brain. Unlike high-dose anesthetic effects, low-dose ketamine binds to lateral grooves on NMDA receptors, enhancing excitatory transmission and long-term synaptic changes.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·June 24, 2024·6 min read

Ketamine Tablet Shows Promise for Treating Severe Depression

A new slow-release ketamine tablet has shown potential in treating severe depression, offering a convenient and safe at-home alternative to existing treatments. In a randomized-controlled trial, patients on the highest dose of ketamine saw significant reductions in depression symptoms compared to placebo. The tablet form avoids the dissociative effects associated with other ketamine treatments. Further research is needed to confirm these findings and achieve clinical approval.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·May 21, 2024·8 min read

Ketamine’s Effect on Brain Activity Revealed

A new computational model reveals how ketamine, a widely used anesthetic and antidepressant, affects brain activity. By simulating the drug's interaction with NMDA receptors, the model explains how ketamine alters neuronal firing patterns, leading to altered states of consciousness and potential therapeutic benefits for depression.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·February 23, 2024·4 min read

Ketamine’s Key to Unlocking Social Bonding in Depression

Researchers made a significant breakthrough in understanding how ketamine treats depression-related social impairments, focusing on the drug's effects in the mouse model. Their study shows that (R)-ketamine, as opposed to (S)-ketamine, effectively restores neuronal activity in the anterior insular cortex, a region crucial for emotional regulation and social cognition.

This shows a pink brain and a blue brain.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·February 12, 2024·7 min read

Ketamine’s Effects Diverge by Sex

Ketamine's effects on depression and pain, and its interaction with opioid pathways, significantly differ between sexes. In a detailed rat study, the team found that blocking opioid receptors nullified ketamine's impact only in males, suggesting a complex interplay between ketamine, opioid systems, and sex hormones.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·February 8, 2024·10 min read

Ketamine’s Leap from Fringe to Mainstream in Depression Treatment

A new study involving 74 participants, has demonstrated significant promise for intravenous ketamine in treating severe depression and bipolar disorder, conditions often resistant to traditional therapies. This research indicates that after just three ketamine infusions over 11 days, 52% of the participants achieved remission, with half of those frequently experiencing suicidal thoughts witnessing a dramatic decline in such impulses.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·October 19, 2023·6 min read

Does Drug Effect or Power of Belief Explain Ketamine’s Antidepressant Effect?

Researchers conducted a unique study to uncover the efficacy of ketamine in treating depression, bypassing its unmistakable psychedelic effects by administering it during surgery. Surprisingly, both the ketamine and placebo groups showed substantial improvement in depression symptoms.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·April 1, 2023·4 min read

Ketamine Could Be Beneficial for Treating Brain Injury in Children

Ketamine reduces pressure within the skull for children with traumatic brain injury, a new study reports.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·February 20, 2023·4 min read

Ketamine Could Be Effective Treatment for Cocaine-Use Disorders

Those with cocaine use disorder who were administered ketamine for depression or pain experienced two-to-four times higher remission rate.

This shows a man holding his back in pain

Featured Neuroscience Pain Psychology

·January 30, 2023·5 min read

How Ketamine Acts as Antidepressant in Chronic Pain

Chronic pain in mice activates Tiam1 in pyramidal neurons in the anterior cingulate cortex, increasing the number of dendritic spines and inducing synaptic plasticity. Ketamine's antidepressant effect in chronic pain is mediated by the drug blocking Tiam1-dependent maladaptive synaptic plasticity in ACC neurons.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·January 9, 2023·12 min read

The Rebirth of Psychedelic Medicine

Often considered dangerous, mind-altering drugs, researchers are turning to the study of psychedelic therapies as a potential to treat an array of psychiatric conditions including depression and PTSD.