Increased amygdala reactivity might lead to negative bias during emotional processing that can be reversed by antidepressant drug treatment. However, little is known on how N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonism with ketamine as a novel antidepressant drug target might modulate amygdala reactivity to emotional stimulation. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and...
Increasing preclinical and clinical evidence underscores the strong and rapid antidepressant properties of the glutamate-modulating NMDA receptor antagonist ketamine. Targeting the glutamatergic system might thus provide a novel molecular strategy for antidepressant treatment. Since glutamate is the most abundant and major excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain, pathophysiological changes in...
Based on animal data, NMDA receptor hypofunction has been suggested as a model for positive symptoms in schizophrenia. NMDA receptor hypofunction affects several corticolimbic brain regions, of which the posterior cingulate seems to be the most sensitive. However, empirical support for a crucial role of posterior cingulate NMDA hypofunction in the pathophysiology of positive symptoms is still...