Anesthesiology
August 1, 2024
Connor T A Brenna, Benjamin I Goldstein, Carlos A. Zarate et al.
19 citations
During the last 100 years, the role of anesthesiologists in psychiatry has focused primarily on facilitating electroconvulsive therapy and mitigating postoperative delirium and other perioperative neurocognitive disorders. The discovery of the rapid and sustained antidepressant properties of ketamine, and early results suggesting that other general anesthetic drugs (including nitrous oxide,...
European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience
July 13, 2024
Jenessa N Johnston, Carlos A. Zarate, Mark D Kvarta
18 citations
The discovery of racemic (R, S)-ketamine as a rapid-acting antidepressant and the subsequent FDA approval of its (S)-enantiomer, esketamine, for treatment-resistant depression (TRD) are significant advances in the development of novel neuropsychiatric therapeutics. Esketamine is now recognized as a powerful tool for addressing persistent symptoms of TRD compared to traditional oral...
Molecular Psychiatry
September 1, 2024
Brandi Quintanilla, Carlos A. Zarate, Anilkumar Pillai
17 citations
Over 300 million people worldwide suffer from major depressive disorder (MDD). Unfortunately, only 30-40% of patients with MDD achieve complete remission after conventional monoamine antidepressant therapy. In recent years, ketamine has revolutionized the treatment of MDD, with its rapid antidepressant effects manifesting within a few hours as opposed to weeks with conventional antidepressants....
Progress in Brain Research
January 1, 2023
Vasileia Kotoula, Jennifer W. Evans, Claire Punturieri et al.
17 citations
Imaging studies of treatment-resistant depression (TRD) have examined brain activity, structure, and metabolite concentrations to identify critical areas of investigation in TRD as well as potential targets for treatment interventions. This chapter provides an overview of the main findings of studies using three imaging modalities: structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), functional MRI...
Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment
October 1, 2018
Wallace C. Duncan, Elizabeth E. Slonena, Nadia S. Hejazi et al.
17 citations
PURPOSE: This study examined the links between 24-hour activity patterns (specifically, amplitude and timing of wrist activity) and the persisting qualities of clinical antidepressant response to the glutamatergic modulator ketamine. METHODS: Twenty-four-hour activity patterns were compared across 5 days of 24-hour activity rhythms in patients with major depressive disorder who displayed either...
Pharmacopsychiatry
June 23, 2014
Nancy B. Lundin, Mark J. Niciu, David A. Luckenbaugh et al.
17 citations
INTRODUCTION: Deficiencies in both vitamin B12 and folate have been associated with depression. Recently, higher baseline vitamin B12 levels were observed in individuals with bipolar depression who responded to the antidepressant ketamine at 7 days post-infusion. This study sought to -replicate this result by correlating peripheral vitamin levels with ketamine's antidepressant efficacy in...
Translational Psychiatry
June 4, 2024
Elizabeth D. Ballard, Deanna K Greenstein, Philip T Reiss et al.
16 citations
The glutamatergic modulator ketamine is associated with changes in sleep, depression, and suicidal ideation (SI). This study sought to evaluate differences in arousal-related sleep metrics between 36 individuals with treatment-resistant major depression (TRD) and 25 healthy volunteers (HVs). It also sought to determine whether ketamine normalizes arousal in individuals with TRD and whether...
Biological Psychiatry
March 15, 2025
Anna Onisiforou, Andria Michael, Markos Apostolakis et al.
14 citations
Opioid use disorder (OUD) has reached epidemic proportions, with many countries facing high levels of opioid use and related fatalities. Although currently prescribed medications for OUD are considered lifesaving, they inadequately address negative affect and cognitive impairment, resulting in high relapse rates to nonmedical opioid use even years after drug cessation (protracted abstinence)....
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...
The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry
April 24, 2024
Gregory H Jones, Courtney M Vecera, Ana C Ruiz et al.
13 citations
Objective: Although individuals with a family history of alcohol use disorder (AUD) have a superior antidepressant response to ketamine, outcomes in patients with current AUD remain unclear. This study sought to investigate whether intranasal (IN) racemic (R,S)-ketamine had antisuicidal and antidepressant effects in unipolar and bipolar depression and whether comorbid AUD conferred superior...
The American journal of psychiatry
September 1, 2024
Evan M. Hess, Dede Greenstein, Olivia L Hutchinson et al.
12 citations
The authors sought to assess the prosocial, entactogen effects of ketamine. Pleasure from social situations was assessed in a sample of participants with treatment-resistant depression from randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies, using four items of the Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale (SHAPS) at five time points over 1 week following treatment with ketamine (0.5 mg/kg...
Nat Commun
December 22, 2020
Elizabeth D. Ballard, Carlos A. Zarate
10 citations
Ketamine produces immediate antidepressant effects and has inspired research into next-generation treatments. Ketamine also has short term dissociative effects, in which individuals report altered consciousness and perceptions of themselves and their environment. However, whether ketamine's dissociative side effects are necessary for its antidepressant effects remains unclear. This perspective...
Scientific Reports
February 24, 2024
Jennifer W. Evans, Morgan C Graves, Allison C. Nugent et al.
9 citations
The hippocampus and amygdala have been implicated in the pathophysiology and treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD). Preclinical models suggest that stress-related changes in these regions can be reversed by antidepressants, including ketamine. Clinical studies have identified reduced volumes in MDD that are thought to be potentiated by early life stress and worsened by repeated...
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...
Brain, behavior, and immunity
July 1, 2025
Brandi Quintanilla, Dede Greenstein, Ashutosh Tripathi et al.
7 citations
Recent evidence suggests that the rapid-acting antidepressant ketamine has immune regulatory functions. The complement system is an important component of the innate immune response and plays a key role in synaptic plasticity. An increase in complement component 3 (C3) expression was previously found in the prefrontal cortex of individuals with depression. Given the complement system's role in...
CNS Spectrums
June 30, 2025
Jose-Manuel Quintero, Rosa-Helena Bustos, Sharon Lechtig-Wassermann et al.
6 citations
Ketamine, originally synthesized in 1962, has gained increasing attention due to its rapid and sustained antidepressant effects in treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Unlike traditional antidepressants, ketamine acts on multiple neurotransmitter systems, including NMDA receptor antagonism and AMPA receptor potentiation, offering a novel mechanism for mood regulation. Beyond psychiatry,...
Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology
May 1, 2025
Mina Kheirkhah, Wallace C. Duncan, Qiaoping Yuan et al.
6 citations
Abnormalities during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep contribute to the pathophysiology of major depressive disorder (MDD), but few studies have explored the relationship between REM sleep and treatment-resistant depression (TRD). In MDD, REM sleep abnormalities often manifest as alterations in total night REM Density (RD), RD in the first REM period (RD1), and REM Latency (RL). Among these, RD1...
Journal of Affective Disorders
March 1, 2025
Elizabeth D. Ballard, Lucinda Neely, Laura Waldman et al.
4 citations
This analysis sought to identify potential clinical targets for the suicide crisis. Characteristics of a useful clinical target include elevation at the time of suicide crisis and responsiveness to rapid-acting interventions. Suicidal ideation (SI), depression, and hopelessness were hypothesized to meet these criteria. Participants were 118 adults across the continuum of suicide risk, including...
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...
Psychiatry Research
July 1, 2025
Hiroe Hu, Alaina N Tillman, Miyu Fujita et al.
2 citations
Subanesthetic-dose ketamine has recently been reported to improve hedonic pleasures associated with social interactions and altruism in individuals with treatment-resistant depression. However, whether ketamine-among other glutamate receptor modulators-also improves empathy and/or prosocial behavior in humans remains unknown. Under a framework grounded in neurobiology that proposes that...
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...
bioRxiv Preprint Server
June 8, 2023
Federica Lucantonio, Shuwen Li, Jaden Lu et al.
2 citations
preprint
Ketamine’s role in providing a rapid and sustained antidepressant response, particularly for patients unresponsive to conventional treatments, is increasingly recognized. A core symptom of depression, anhedonia, or the loss of enjoyment or interest in previously pleasurable activities, is known to be significantly alleviated by ketamine. While several hypotheses have been proposed regarding the...
JAMA Psychiatry
July 1, 2026
Sung Ryul Shim, Hye Su Jeong, Tanner J. Bommersbach et al.
1 citation
While intravenous ketamine is not approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, it is increasingly used with off-label indications as a novel treatment for suicidal and depressive symptoms. To systematically review and metasynthesize the efficacy and safety data for intravenous ketamine in treating major depressive episodes (MDEs). PubMed, PsycInfo, Cochrane Library, and Embase were...
General Hospital Psychiatry
February 25, 2026
Alan C. Courtes, Blake Myers, Noah Daly et al.
1 citation
Psychological stress not only undermines quality of life for people with cancer but also fuels tumor growth. Emerging evidence from the nascent field of cancer neuroscience suggests that adrenergic signaling from direct tumor-neuron interactions drives cancer progression, resistance to treatment, and worse outcomes. Cancer neuroscientists are increasingly seeking to repurpose psychoactive...
Journal of Neuroendocrinology
January 1, 2026
Hiroe Hu, Yoojin Lee, Alaina N Tillman et al.
1 citation
Arginine vasopressin (AVP) modulates stress responsivity and social-affective behaviors, but its role in mood and trauma-related disorders remains poorly defined due to challenges in peripheral measurement. This study used copeptin, a stable, reliable, and well-validated surrogate marker of AVP secretion, to assess vasopressinergic function in a transdiagnostic sample of individuals...