Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine
October 19, 2026
Sarah Lanigan, Níall Lally, Aoife Brett et al.
OBJECTIVES: To describe the demographic, clinical, and treatment characteristics of individuals admitted with hexahydrocannabinol (HHC)-associated psychosis and compare with cannabis-associated psychosis. METHODS: A retrospective chart review was undertaken of all admissions to the Adult Acute Mental Health Unit at University Hospital Galway, Ireland, between 1 May 2023 and 31 July 2025, with...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
May 1, 2026
Brian O'Mahony, Colm Harrington, Andrew Harkin et al.
Psychedelic drugs are increasingly under investigation as potential therapeutic agents for mental health conditions and are being increasingly used recreationally. Psychedelic use may result in an episode of intense psychological distress, commonly referred to as a "bad trip." Bad trips represent a potentially volatile, erratic, and dangerous situation, which may, in extreme cases, require...
Neuropsychopharmacology
August 2018
Jennifer W. Evans, Níall Lally, Li An et al.
The glutamatergic modulator ketamine has striking and rapid antidepressant effects in major depressive disorder (MDD), but its mechanism of action remains unknown. Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) is the only non-invasive method able to directly measure glutamate levels in vivo; in particular, glutamate and glutamine metabolite concentrations are separable by 1H-MRS at 7T. This...
Journal of Affective Disorders
April 15, 2018
Elizabeth D. Ballard, Julia S Yarrington, Cristan A Farmer et al.
Due to the heterogeneity of depressive symptoms-which can include depressed mood, anhedonia, negative cognitive biases, and altered activity levels-researchers often use a combination of depression rating scales to assess symptoms. This study sought to identify unidimensional constructs measured across rating scales for depression and to evaluate these constructs across clinical trials of a...
Journal of Affective Disorders
August 15, 2017
Elizabeth D. Ballard, Kathleen E. Wills, Níall Lally et al.
Identifying clinical correlates associated with reduced suicidal ideation may highlight new avenues for the treatment of suicidal thoughts. Anhedonia occurs across psychiatric diagnoses and has been associated with specific neural circuits in response to rapid-acting treatments, such as ketamine. This analysis sought to evaluate whether reductions in suicidal ideation after ketamine...
Current Neuropharmacology
March 25, 2016
Brittany A. Jaso, Mark J. Niciu, Nicolas D. Iadarola et al.
97 citations
Current pharmacotherapies for major depressive disorder (MDD) have a distinct lag of onset that can prolong distress and impairment for patients, and realworld effectiveness trials further suggest that antidepressant efficacy is limited in many patients. All currently approved antidepressant medications for MDD act primarily through monoaminergic mechanisms, e.g., receptor/reuptake agonists or...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
February 17, 2015
Níall Lally, Allison C. Nugent, David A. Luckenbaugh et al.
224 citations
Anhedonia is a cardinal symptom of major depression and is often refractory to standard treatment, yet no approved medication for this specific symptom exists. In this exploratory re-analysis, we assessed whether administration of rapid-acting antidepressant ketamine was associated specifically with reduced anhedonia in medication-free treatment-refractory patients with major depressive...
The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology
October 31, 2014
Elizabeth D. Ballard, Níall Lally, Allison C. Nugent et al.
74 citations
BACKGROUND: The neural correlates of suicidal ideation and its reduction after treatment are unknown. We hypothesized that increased regional cerebral glucose metabolism in the infralimbic cortex (Brodmann area 25), amygdala, and subgenual anterior cingulate cortex would be associated with suicidal ideation and its reduction after ketamine infusion. METHODS: Medication-free patients (n=19) with...
Translational Psychiatry
October 14, 2014
Níall Lally, Allison C. Nugent, David A. Luckenbaugh et al.
269 citations
Anhedonia--which is defined as diminished pleasure from, or interest in, previously rewarding activities-is one of two cardinal symptoms of a major depressive episode. However, evidence suggests that standard treatments for depression do little to alleviate the symptoms of anhedonia and may cause reward blunting. Indeed, no therapeutics are currently approved for the treatment of anhedonia....