Near-death experiences (NDE) involve enhanced perception and memory, and have been linked to a surge in high-frequency brain oscillations. In anesthetized rats dying from an overdose of chloral hydrate, a surge in beta and gamma band power occurred in the hippocampus, with gamma power specifically tied to impending death. Theta band power was suppressed. Cardiac arrest only developed after breathing stopped and all oscillatory activity collapsed, showing that the high-frequency surge is not exclusive to cardiac arrest. The gamma synchronization in the CA1 region may contribute to NDEs that occur both with and without cardiac arrest.
Adding retigabine, a KCNQ channel opener, to a low dose of ketamine that alone had no antidepressant effect produced a strong antidepressant effect in both male and female C57BL/6J mice in the forced swim test. Retigabine also prolonged the duration of ketamine's antidepressant effect. The findings suggest that adjunctive retigabine could enhance ketamine's antidepressant properties, potentially allowing lower ketamine doses and reducing its risk of dependence.
A fingertip force control task that adjusts challenge to match personal skill can induce flow and track its rapid fluctuations. Eight performance metrics extracted from force sequences differed significantly across flow states. A learning-based decoder predicted continuous flow intensity from these metrics, correlating with self-reported flow at r=0.81. Decoded results revealed rapid oscillations in flow between sparse self-report probes, demonstrating high-temporal-resolution tracking of flow dynamics.
A single dose of the HCN channel inhibitor DK-AH 269 (cilobradine) produces rapid and sustained antidepressant-like effects in mice subjected to chronic social defeat stress, lasting up to 13 days. The compound reduces pathological HCN-mediated currents and abnormal hyperactivity of dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area. Treated mice showed normalized social behavior, restored sucrose preference, and less immobility in the forced swim test compared to vehicle-treated animals. These effects parallel those of a single dose of ketamine, suggesting HCN channels as a novel target for fast-acting, long-lasting antidepressants.