Ketamine as an antidepressant improves anhedonia, a pernicious symptom of depression as early as 2h post-infusion. The effects of ketamine on anhedonia are thought to be exerted via actions on reward-related brain areas—yet, these actions remain largely unknown. This study examines ketamine’s effects during the anticipation and receipt of an expected reward, after the psychotomimetic effects of...
An urgent need exists for faster-acting pharmacological treatments in major depressive disorder (MDD). The glutamatergic modulator ketamine has been shown to have rapid antidepressant effects, but much remains unknown about its mechanism of action. Functional MRI (fMRI) can be used to investigate how ketamine impacts brain activity during cognitive and emotional processing. This double-blind,...
BACKGROUND: A single subanesthetic infusion of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist ketamine has rapid and potent antidepressant properties in treatment-resistant major depressive disorder (TRD). As a family history of an alcohol use disorder is a positive predictor of ketamine's antidepressant response and the strength of the association increases over time, we hypothesized that...
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...