Repeated 7-day exposure to ketamine induces anxiety-like behaviors and neuronal apoptosis in mice via DRD1-medicated inhibition of Akt/Gsk-3β phosphorylation.
Jia-Yi Wei, Peng Lv, Jiayu Zhang, Xi-Kai Hou, Ang Li, Feng-Tong Zhang, Hongbo Wang, Yan Lü, Xu Wu, Jun Yao
Cell Biology and Toxicology January 30, 2026 DOI: 10.1007/s10565-026-10149-4 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Experimental study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Mice and HT22 cells |
| Intervention | Ketamine |
| Duration | 7-day ketamine exposure |
| Topics | Anxiety Esketamine Ketamine |
| Keywords | Anxiety-like behavior Apoptosis Drd1 Ketamine abuse |
| Key findings | Ketamine induces anxiety-like behavior and neuronal apoptosis in mice through DRD1-dependent suppression of Akt/Gsk3β phosphorylation. |
Abstract
Repeated exposure to ketamine leads to mental behavioral disorders and cognitive deficits in mice. As a neurotransmitter receptor, dopamine receptor 1 (DRD1) is involved in mental regulation and memory formation. However, the role of DRD1 in ketamine's behavioral disorder and neurotoxicity remains unclear. We found that seven-day ketamine exposure induced anxiety-like, depressive-like behavior and cognition dysfunction in mice. DRD1 activation can produce anxiety-like behavior similar to that induced by ketamine. Furthermore, DRD1 activation synergistically exacerbates this effect of ketamine, and DRD1 antagonism partially attenuates the anxiety-like behavior and further aggravated the depressive-like behavior induced by ketamine. Moreover, ketamine induced HT22 cell apoptosis by DRD1 dependent inhibition of Akt/Gsk3β phosphorylation. DRD1 agonist synergistically enhanced the apoptosis induced by ketamine, while DRD1 antagonist or the apoptosis inhibitor partially reversed this apoptosis in vitro. In vivo assay found that ketamine promotes neuronal apoptosis in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex of mice, and antagonizing DRD1 partially attenuates ketamine-induced apoptosis. In contrast, cell-specific knockdown of DRD1 in neuronal cells exacerbated ketamine-induced neuronal apoptosis and anxiety-like behavior. In summary, ketamine regulates DRD1 to suppress Akt/Gsk3β phosphorylation, inducing neuronal apoptosis, ultimately leading to anxiety-like behaviors in mice.
Comparable studies
Other preclinical and animal studies on ketamine for anxiety, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychedelics, but Not Ketamine, Produce Persistent Antidepressant-like Effects in a Rodent Experimental System for the Study of Depression Rats | 2020 | Preclinical study | |
| Psilocin and ketamine microdosing: effects of subchronic intermittent microdoses in the elevated plus-maze in male Wistar rats Wistar rats | 2018 | Experimental study | n = 40 |
| Repeated Dosing of Ketamine in the Forced Swim Test: Are Multiple Shots Better Than One? Rodents | 2021 | Review | |
| Psychedelics: A review of their effects on recalled aversive memories and fear/anxiety expression in rodents Rodents | 2024 | Review | |
| Sexually Dimorphic Behavioral Profile in a Transgenic Model Enabling Targeted Recombination in Active Neurons in Response to Ketamine and (2R,6R)-Hydroxynorketamine Administration Arc-CreERT2 × CAG-Sun1/sfGFP mice | 2020 | Experimental study |