European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists
April 4, 2024
Haiyan Liu, Chengyu Wang, Xiaofeng Lan et al.
7 citations
Abnormal connectivity between a specific amygdala subregion (the left laterobasal amygdala) and the left precuneus in people with major depressive disorder is linked to how well ketamine treatment works. After six doses of ketamine (0.5 mg/kg), differences in connectivity changes between responders and nonresponders appeared in the bilateral centromedial amygdala with the left orbital part of the superior frontal gyrus and in the left laterobasal amygdala with the right middle frontal gyrus. A baseline difference in connectivity between the left laterobasal amygdala and the right superior/middle temporal gyrus predicted the antidepressant effect on Day 13, suggesting that ketamine may improve symptoms by regulating amygdala subregion networks.
European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists
August 26, 2025
Ismaël Conejero, Raquel Alvarez García, Alejandro Porras-Segovia et al.
2 citations
In a naturalistic study across four Madrid hospitals, 55% of 65 patients with treatment-resistant depression who received esketamine as an augmentation treatment achieved remission over follow-up. Among those who completed the standard protocol, remission rates rose to 67%, and to 70% for those receiving more than 19 administrations. Remission was associated with completing the standard protocol and with the absence of dissociative symptoms. Receiving more than 19 esketamine administrations increased the odds of remission. Adverse effects did not affect treatment continuation.
European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists
February 5, 2025
Shokouh Arjmand, Mats B Lindström, Carl M Sellgren et al.
1 citation
The dissociative effects of ketamine and psychedelics may be linked to their rapid antidepressant properties, but it is unclear whether these effects are necessary for therapeutic action. Because patients can often tell whether they received an active drug or placebo based on the dissociative experience, clinical trial results may be biased. The authors propose a novel approach: administering these drugs to patients during sleep to separate the subjective dissociative experience from the drug's biological effects, potentially allowing for better-controlled studies.
European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists
June 10, 2026
Riccardo Guglielmo, Miriam Olivola, Alberto Inuggi et al.
Over six months of routine esketamine treatment for treatment-resistant depression, depressive symptoms and daily functioning both improved progressively. By month six, 78.3% of patients showed a symptomatic response and 46.7% reached symptomatic remission, while 78.3% showed a functional response but only 33.3% achieved functional remission. Functional remission accumulated more slowly than symptomatic remission, with cumulative rates of 5% at one month, 15% at three months, and 33.3% at six months. Higher baseline disability and more previous antidepressant trials were linked to lower odds of functional remission at six months. The findings suggest that functional improvement follows a distinct trajectory from symptom improvement and should be monitored separately in treatment-resistant depression.
European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists
November 1, 2007
Ludwig Grepmair, Ferdinand Mitterlehner, Thomas Loew et al.
Patients treated by psychotherapists in training who were currently practicing Zen meditation showed significantly better treatment outcomes than those treated by therapists not practicing meditation. The study compared 196 inpatients over a nine-week period: a historical control group of 55 patients treated by therapists without meditation practice, and a group of 58 patients treated by therapists practicing Zen meditation. Outcomes measured using the Session Questionnaire for General and Differential Individual Psychotherapy, the Questionnaire of Changes in Experience and Behaviour, and the Symptom Checklist indicated superior results for the meditation-facilitated group.
European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists
December 1, 1998
E Gouzoulis-Mayfrank, E Habermeyer, L Hermle et al.
People with endogenous psychoses (e.g., schizophrenia) often experience altered states of consciousness that resemble those induced by hallucinogenic drugs. In a study of 93 patients shortly after an acute psychotic episode, 50 healthy controls, and 7 patients with drug-induced psychosis, standardized questionnaires revealed that psychotic patients scored significantly higher than controls on measures of altered states. Over half of the endogenous patients endorsed 26% of items on one scale and 43% on another. Scores related to oceanic boundlessness (a pleasant, ego-dissolving experience) correlated with thought disturbance. The findings suggest that hallucinogen-like experiences, including pleasant ones, are common in acute psychosis and may be clinically overlooked.
European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists
January 1, 1996
F Ames, D Castle
The authors discuss the psychomimetic properties of Cannabis sativa in light of the discovery of its cerebral ligand and genetic sequence, and explore the relationship between cannabis intoxication and mood. They suggest that renewed study of acute cannabis encephalopathy could deepen understanding of consciousness in healthy adults and help illuminate the perceptual worlds of children, the elderly, and certain patients.