Abstract Background Clinical studies have shown that ketamine and classic psychedelics can produce robust and rapid antidepressant effects after a single or a few administrations. However, the neurobiological mechanisms driving these long-lasting changes remain unclear. A leading framework proposes that both drug classes induce sustained increases in neuroplasticity, potentially reshaping...
We investigated ketamine's neuroplastic effects in healthy human subjects using integrated Positron Emission Tomography (PET)/Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) measures before and 1-8 days after a single psychedelic dose of ketamine (1 mg/kg, intravenous). Eleven male participants underwent two PET/MRI scans with [11C]-UCBJ (synaptic density/plasticity), 1H-MRS (glutamate and GABA) and...
Despite decades of neuroscience research and significant investment in addiction neuroimaging, clinical outcomes for individuals with substance use and behavioural addictions remain poor. Only 1.8% of people with substance use disorders receive effective treatment, highlighting a major disconnect between mechanistic understanding and clinical utility. This paper calls for a reorientation of...