Aripiprazole, a partial dopamine receptor agonist, can suppress the dissociative side effects of the rapid-acting antidepressant ketamine without diminishing its antidepressant effects. Experiments in mice showed that aripiprazole blocked ketamine-induced psychotomimetic behaviors while preserving or enhancing antidepressant-like effects in the forced swim test, whereas the antagonist raclopride suppressed both. Brain mapping identified the ventral tegmental area as a key region. In a small clinical study of nine depressed patients, co-administering 12 mg of aripiprazole with ketamine reduced dissociative symptoms while maintaining antidepressant benefits. These findings suggest that combining aripiprazole with ketamine may offer a preferred therapy for treatment-resistant depression.
Problematic use of the internet (PUI) is linked to altered brain network organization through its effect on the default mode network (DMN). In 190 healthy adults aged 20–69, higher PUI severity correlated with reduced functional connectivity among DMN regions. This reduced DMN connectivity strongly predicted changes in whole-brain network properties, including decreased clustering and local efficiency, and increased global efficiency and shorter path lengths—indicating a shift away from optimal small-world network organization. Mediation analyses showed that DMN connectivity substantially mediated the relationship between PUI severity and these network metrics, suggesting that DMN hub disruption is a key pathway by which PUI affects global brain network topology.
In healthy volunteers without problematic internet use, higher scores on a mood regulation subscale were associated with stronger functional connectivity between brain networks involved in emotion and cognitive control—specifically the salience, central executive, and default mode networks—and with weaker connectivity between the default mode and frontoparietal networks. These patterns are opposite to those seen in problematic internet use, suggesting that non-problematic internet use may support healthy emotion regulation through distinct brain connectivity changes.