Abstract S-ketamine, a N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antagonist, and psilocybin, a 5-hydroxy-tryptamine (serotonin) 2A receptor (5-HT 2A R) agonist, are reported as effective rapid-acting antidepressants. Both compounds increase glutamate signalling and evoke cortical hyperexcitation. S-ketamine induces neurotoxicity especially in the retrosplenial cortex (Olney’s lesions). Whether...
Ketamine may represent an efficient alternative antidepressant with rapid therapeutic onset; however, the clinical use of ketamine is hampered by psychosis-like side-effects. Recent studies suggest that the nitric oxide (NO) donor sodium nitroprusside (SNP) prevents psychosis-like abnormalities triggered by ketamine or another NMDA receptor (NMDAR) antagonist, phencyclidine (PCP) in rats. SNP...
Preclinical and clinical studies have shown that N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonists can exert antidepressant effects. Thus, a single intravenous injection of ketamine, a non-competitive NMDA receptor antagonists, has been recently demonstrated to produce a rapid and relatively sustained antidepressant effect in patients. Therefore, the role of NMDA receptors and their signalling...