Anesthetics as Treatments for Depression: Clinical Insights and Underlying Mechanisms.
Macauley Smith Breault, Sirma Orguc, Ohyoon Kwon, Gloria H Kang, Bryan Tseng, David R Schreier, Emery N Brown
Annual Review of Neuroscience February 19, 2025 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-neuro-112723-062031 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Depression |
| Keywords | Depression treatment Anesthesia research Mental health breakthroughs Drug repurposing |
| Citations | 13 |
| Key findings | Several anesthetics besides ketamine demonstrate antidepressant effects, potentially through modulation of brain dynamics and arousal states. |
Abstract
Major depressive disorder and treatment-resistant depression are significant worldwide health problems that need new therapies. The success of the anesthetic ketamine as an antidepressant is well known. It is less widely known that several other anesthetic agents have also shown antidepressant effects. These include nitrous oxide, propofol, isoflurane, sevoflurane, dexmedetomidine, and xenon. We review clinical and basic science investigations that have studied the therapeutic value of these anesthetics for treating depression. We propose potential neurophysiological mechanisms underlying the antidepressant effects of anesthetics by combining our understanding of how anesthetics modulate brain dynamics to alter arousal states, current theories of depression pathophysiology, and findings from other depression treatment modalities.
Comparable studies
Other narrative reviews on depression, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Synaptic Dysfunction in Depression: Potential Therapeutic Targets | 2012 | Review | |
| Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression: A New Approach to Preventing Relapse | 2003 | Review | |
| Synthesizing the Evidence for Ketamine and Esketamine in Treatment-Resistant Depression: An International Expert Opinion on the Available Evidence and Implementation Adults with treatment-resistant depression | 2021 | Review | |
| Classic psychedelics: An integrative review of epidemiology, therapeutics, mystical experience, and brain network function. General population | 2019 | Integrative review | |
| Sudarshan Kriya Yogic Breathing in the Treatment of Stress, Anxiety, and Depression: Part II—Clinical Applications and Guidelines | 2005 | Review |
Citations in the library
Cited by 5
- Rapid antidepressant potential of nitrous oxide: current state and major questions. Molecular Psychiatry June 1, 2026
- The Induction of Dissociative States: A Meta-Analysis. Biological Psychiatry Global Open Science July 1, 2025
- Propofol for depression: mechanisms and therapeutic potential Frontiers in Physiology August 10, 2026
- Development and validation of a short-form (6-item) version of the clinician-administered dissociative states scale (CADSS-SF). European Journal of Psychotraumatology June 15, 2026
- Novel and emerging anesthetic drugs for the treatments of major depression: a comprehensive review of efficacy, mechanism, and outlook. Frontiers in Psychiatry 2025
Cites 33
- The Brain's Default Mode Network Annual Review of Neuroscience May 4, 2015
- A Randomized Trial of an N-methyl-D-aspartate Antagonist in Treatment-Resistant Major Depression Archives of General Psychiatry August 1, 2006
- Subanesthetic Effects of the Noncompetitive NMDA Antagonist, Ketamine, in Humans Archives of General Psychiatry March 1, 1994
- mTOR-Dependent Synapse Formation Underlies the Rapid Antidepressant Effects of NMDA Antagonists Science August 19, 2010
- NMDAR inhibition-independent antidepressant actions of ketamine metabolites Nature April 24, 2016
and 28 more in the library