Aberrant salience is significantly elevated in schizophrenia patients with prominent positive symptoms, particularly delusions and hallucinations, and appears comparable to the general population in chronic remitted patients, suggesting it is a state-dependent phenomenon. In a cross-sectional study of 113 subjects (83 patients and 30 healthy controls), symptomatic groups (acute drug-free and chronic-medicated) showed higher aberrant salience than asymptomatic patients or controls, while no significant difference emerged between medicated and unmedicated symptomatic patients. A strong positive correlation was found between aberrant salience and positive symptom severity, but not with negative symptoms. Medication may reduce aberrant salience indirectly by alleviating positive psychotic symptoms.
A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials found that oral ketamine produces short-term antidepressant effects. The analysis synthesizes evidence from multiple trials, indicating that oral ketamine can reduce depressive symptoms more than placebo or control conditions over brief follow-up periods. The review notes that the evidence base is still limited and that longer-term efficacy and safety require further investigation.
Sleep-related hallucinations that occur when falling asleep or waking up are usually brief and happen in healthy people. In rare cases, they become severe and troubling, linked to conditions such as narcolepsy. This case report describes a person who had prominent auditory hallucinations upon waking that gradually became constant and distressing, resembling hallucinations seen in schizophrenia. These hallucinations improved with a low dose of the antipsychotic medication olanzapine.