In a 69-year-old man with chronic multi-therapy resistant bipolar depression, combining intravenous ketamine three times per week with sequential theta burst stimulation led to complete remission that persisted at a two-year follow-up. The patient had previously failed numerous antidepressants, mood stabilizers, electroconvulsive therapy, and standalone brain stimulation. Clinical improvement was measured by a drop in the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale from 15 to 8 and eventually to remission. Electroencephalography showed corrected dysregulated brain activity patterns, suggesting changes in short-term adaptive plasticity. This combination may offer a treatment path for patients who do not respond to standard therapies.
A computational model of the brain's thalamo-cortico-thalamic network, built from twelve neural populations, reproduces the abnormal EEG oscillations seen in schizophrenia by simulating the effects of ketamine, which blocks NMDAR receptors. The model shows that ketamine increases excitatory activity and alters gamma and sigma band oscillations, matching experimental observations. Adding a neuroplasticity model of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and applying simulated current to selected pathways reverses these ketamine-induced changes. The work suggests that neural mass models can help predict personalized tDCS protocols for treating schizophrenia.
Schizophrenia involves fundamental disturbances in consciousness, including self-abnormalities, aberrant time perception, and dysfunctional intentional binding. The orchestrated object reduction (Orch-OR) theory, which proposes quantum processes in neuronal microtubules, offers a biological framework for understanding these perturbations. This review links evidence of microtubule abnormalities and aberrant neural oscillations in schizophrenia to the Orch-OR model, suggesting that quantum biological processes may underlie the disorder's core features. The theory's translational implications are explored.
Audible 'OM' chanting produces a sensation of vibration that may stimulate the vagus nerve through its auricular branches. Using fMRI in 12 healthy volunteers, the neurohemodynamic correlates of 'OM' chanting were compared with pronouncing 'ssss' and with a resting state. 'OM' chanting caused significant deactivation bilaterally in the orbitofrontal, anterior cingulate, parahippocampal gyri, thalami, hippocampi, and right amygdala, with no significant activation. The 'ssss' condition showed no such changes. These limbic deactivations resemble those seen with vagus nerve stimulation used in depression and epilepsy, suggesting a potential clinical role for 'OM' chanting.