Psychedelic-induced experiences are thought to play an important role in the therapeutic actions of rapid-acting antidepressants. General anesthesia is one scenario in which patients can be rendered unconscious and masked to the psychedelic treatment, providing a simple yet effective method to examine drug-induced changes in the brain devoid of experiences. Chronically stressed adult C57/BL6...
Abstract Nitrous oxide (N2O) induces rapid and durable antidepressant effects in patients suffering from treatment-resistant depression1,2. The cellular and circuit mechanisms mediating this process are not known. Here we find that a single dose of inhaled N2O induces rapid and specific activation of layer V (L5) pyramidal neurons in the prefrontal cortex of rodents exposed to chronic stress...