Ketamine evokes acute behavioral effects via μ-opioid receptor expressing neurons of the central amygdala.
Biological Psychiatry May 5, 2025 Matthew B Pomrenze, Sam Vaillancourt, Pierre Llorach et al. 11 citations
Ketamine has anesthetic, analgesic, and antidepressant properties which may involve multiple neuromodulatory systems. In humans, the opioid receptor (OR) antagonist naltrexone blocks the antidepressant effect of ketamine. This mechanism may differentiate ketamine from other NMDA receptor antagonists. Animal models that reflect OR-dependent behavioral effects of ketamine may shed light on the...