A Method for Measuring Dissociative Effects of Sub-Anesthetic Doses of Ketamine in Juvenile Female Rats.
Chronic stress (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) January 1, 2026 Alexis M Klinner, David S Middlemas
In a female pre-pubescent rat model, sub-anesthetic doses of ketamine (40, 50, and 60 mg/kg) produced dissociative behaviors such as circling and ataxia. Higher doses led to increased severity and longer duration of these effects, lasting up to 120 minutes after injection. The findings suggest a link between ketamine's dissociative effects and its rapid-acting antidepressant action, with higher doses associated with more pronounced dissociation. Further research on long-term dissociative effects is needed to understand the therapeutic risks of using ketamine for adolescent depression.