Ketamine reversed short-term memory impairment and depressive-like behavior in animal model of Parkinson's disease.
Brain Research Bulletin December 22, 2020 D. D. Vecchia, L. Kanazawa, E. Wendler et al.
Ketamine reversed depressive-like behaviors and short-term memory impairment in rats with Parkinson's disease-like brain lesions. Male rats received a toxin injection into the substantia nigra pars compacta, which caused short-term social memory loss, reduced sucrose preference (anhedonia), and increased immobility in a forced swim test. Ketamine at 5, 10, and 15 mg/kg once weekly reversed all these effects, with the anti-immobility effect linked to increased swimming, suggesting a serotonergic mechanism. Imipramine also reduced immobility. Neither ketamine nor imipramine restored the dopamine-producing cells lost to the toxin. The results suggest ketamine may help treat depression and memory problems in Parkinson's disease.