Psychoneuroendocrinology
July 1, 2025
Ece Idil, Bahar Yuksel, Zeynep Sen et al.
2 citations
Ketamine is a rapid-acting antidepressant with sexually dimorphic effects. Female animals exhibit a higher sensitivity to its antidepressant properties, which has been associated with their ovarian hormone levels. One factor contributing to this sex difference is the faster rate of ketamine metabolism observed in females, potentially regulated by estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) through modulation...
Psychopharmacology
June 1, 2025
Bahar Yuksel, Zeynep Sen, Gunes Unal
2 citations
Ketamine, a non-competitive NMDA receptor antagonist, produces antidepressant effects at subanesthetic doses. The therapeutic effect, however, is often accompanied by cognitive side effects, including memory impairments. Yet, the specific effects of ketamine on different processes of implicit and explicit memory remain to be elucidated. We examined the effect of an antidepressant dose of...
Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior
July 1, 2024
Deren Aykan, Mert Genc, Gunes Unal
8 citations
Ketamine is a rapid-acting antidepressant associated with various cognitive side effects. To mitigate these side effects while enhancing efficacy, it can be co-administered with other antidepressants. In our study, we adopted a similar strategy by combining ketamine with environmental enrichment, a potent sensory-motor paradigm, in adult male Wistar rats. We divided the animals into four groups...
Psychopharmacology
July 1, 2024
Dilan Gokalp, Gunes Unal
Ketamine produces dissociative, psychomimetic, anxiolytic, antidepressant, and anesthetic effects in a dose dependent manner. It has a complex mechanism of action that involve alterations in other glutamate receptors. The metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5) has been investigated in relation to the psychotic and anesthetic properties of ketamine, while its role in mediating the...
Behavioural Brain Research
July 22, 2023
Merve Akan, Ivan Skorodumov, M. Meinhardt et al.
The delayed onset of monoaminergic antidepressants and disadvantages of traditional administration routes created the need for alternative non-invasive delivery methods with rapid onset therapeutic effect. Ketamine attracted attention as a fast-acting glutamatergic antidepressant with ideal physiochemical properties for alternative routes of administration. However, there is no sufficient data...
Neuropharmacology
February 20, 2023
Ege Kingir, Cem Sevinc, Gunes Unal
Acute injections of ketamine lead to rapid but transient antidepressant effects. Chronic oral treatment at low doses, a promising non-invasive alternative, may prolong this therapeutic effect. Here, we examine the antidepressant effects of chronic oral ketamine in rats under chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS), and reveal their neuronal correlates. Male Wistar rats were divided into...