Research Square
February 12, 2026
Jenessa N Johnston, Greg Jones, Shiyong Peng et al.
Rapid-acting antidepressants like ketamine and serotonergic psychedelics show promise for treatment-resistant depression (TRD), but the molecular mechanisms that contribute to their therapeutic effects remain unclear. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) offer a platform to model human cortical neurons and investigate drug effects in a human-relevant system. Here, iPSCs from individuals with...
Translational Psychiatry
November 18, 2025
Jenessa N Johnston, Peixiong Yuan, Bashkim Kadriu et al.
2 citations
Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) is associated with worse clinical outcomes and longer course of illness. However, TRD is more difficult to model in animal phenotypes, suggesting that other experimental and translational models must be considered to properly address and research novel therapeutics. Reelin, an endogenous glycoprotein downregulated in depression, has shown rapid...
Frontiers in Psychiatry
September 2, 2025
Mina Kheirkhah, Nastasia McDonald, Julia Aepfelbacher et al.
1 citation
Introduction: This is the first randomized controlled trial to use both qualitative and quantitative methods to evaluate the effects of a combined sensory intervention that included mindfulness, music, and a light-occluding eye mask during antidepressant-dose ketamine treatment for depression. Methods: Forty-three participants with unipolar depressive disorder enrolled in the study; 22...
Bipolar Disorders
April 2, 2025
Adam Fijtman, Mani Yavi, Abigail Vogeley et al.
2 citations
Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) remains a challenge, necessitating novel interventions that address associated cognitive deficits. The glutamatergic modulator ketamine exerts rapid antidepressant effects, prompting investigators to assess its impact on cognitive function, specifically working memory. This study explored ketamine's influence on working memory and magnetoencephalography...
Journal of Affective Disorders
July 15, 2024
Kelly T Hurst, Abigail Vogeley, Deanna K Greenstein et al.
8 citations
Participants who received ketamine at the NIMH were among the first to receive ketamine for depression in controlled clinical trials, providing a unique opportunity to assess long-term outcomes. This analysis evaluated the relationship between participating in a ketamine clinical trial and subsequent ketamine/esketamine use after leaving the research setting. Participants seen within the NIMH...
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
July 1, 2024
Mina Kheirkhah, Allison C. Nugent, Alicia A Livinski et al.
13 citations
Music and ketamine are both known to affect therapeutic outcomes, but few studies have investigated their co-administration. This scoping review describes the existing literature on the joint use of music and ketamine-or esketamine (the S(+) enantiomer of ketamine)-in humans. The review considers that extant studies have explored the intersection of ketamine/esketamine and music in healthy...
Translational Psychiatry
May 2, 2022
Ruin Moaddel, Panos Zanos, Cristan A Farmer et al.
32 citations
Abstract Subanesthetic-dose racemic ( R,S )-ketamine (ketamine) produces rapid, robust, and sustained antidepressant effects in major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorder (BD) and has also been shown to effectively treat neuropathic pain, complex regional pain syndrome, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, to date, its mechanism of action remains unclear. Preclinical...
Discover Mental Health
April 15, 2022
Mani Yavi, Holim Lee, Ioline D. Henter et al.
150 citations
-enantiomer, intranasal esketamine, for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD). Initial studies found that a single subanesthetic-dose IV ketamine infusion rapidly (within one day) improved depressive symptoms in individuals with MDD and bipolar depression, with antidepressant effects lasting three to seven days. In 2019, esketamine received FDA approval as an adjunctive treatment for...