Psychedelics.
October 14, 2025
Mingming Zhao, Jianjun Yang, Kenji Hashimoto
MDMA, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (“ecstasy,” “molly”), is a distinctive entactogen that reverses the serotonin (5-HT) transporter to increase synaptic 5-HT, while also engaging catecholaminergic and oxytocinergic pathways. In clinical trials, MDMA-assisted psychotherapy has yielded substantial improvements in treatment-resistant posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), although regulatory...
European Journal of Pharmacology
March 15, 2025
Mingming Zhao, Akifumi Eguchi, Rumi Murayama et al.
6 citations
3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), commonly known as a recreational drug, may also offer therapeutic benefits for mental health. Population-based studies suggest that MDMA users have a lower risk of demyelinating diseases, such as depression. Given the role of the gut microbiota in mediating MDMA's effects, we hypothesized that MDMA might confer mental health benefits via the gut-brain...
Journal of Anesthesia and Translational Medicine
July 11, 2024
Kenji Hashimoto, Mingming Zhao, Tingting Zhu et al.
32 citations
Ketamine, a dissociative anesthetic, is widely utilized in both human and veterinary anesthesia. Its (S)-enantiomer, esketamine, is similarly employed for anesthesia and analgesia. The anesthetic effects of both ketamine and esketamine arise from their antagonism of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR). In field of psychiatry, the rapid-acting antidepressant properties of ketamine for...
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
June 1, 2022
Xingming Wang, Jianjun Yang, Kenji Hashimoto
Neurological disorders are the leading cause of disability and the second leading cause of death worldwide. The increasing social and economic burdens of neurological disorders are driven by global population growth and aging. Depression is a common psychiatric symptom in numerous neurological disorders. It is also a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other dementias, Parkinson's...
Journal of Neuroinflammation
April 10, 2020
Jing Wu, Jianjun Yang, Yan Cao et al.
140 citations
Abstract Background Increasing evidence suggests that multiple or long-time exposure to general anaesthesia (GA) could be detrimental to cognitive development in young subjects and might also contribute to accelerated neurodegeneration in the elderly. Iron is essential for normal neuronal function, and excess iron in the brain is implicated in several neurodegenerative diseases. However, the...
Translational Psychiatry
November 7, 2019
Chun Yang, Jianjun Yang, A. Luo et al.
189 citations
Although the robust antidepressant effects of the N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antagonist ketamine in patients with treatment-resistant depression are beyond doubt, the precise molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying its antidepressant effects remain unknown. NMDAR inhibition and the subsequent α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptor (AMPAR) activation are...
Scientific Reports
June 5, 2017
Ze-Min Xie, Xingming Wang, Ning Xu et al.
69 citations
Although pain is frequently accompanied with depression, little is known about the risk factors contributing to individual differences to the comorbidity of pain and depression. In this study, we examined whether cytokines and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) might contribute to the individual differences in the development of neuropathic pain-induced depression. Rats were randomly...