Distinct Roles of Therapeutic Expectations and Dissociative Symptoms in Antidepressant Response During Ketamine Treatment in Routine Care
Willys Cantenys, Zeynep Yoldas, Luc Masset, Alix Romier, Léonie Samion, Marion Imbault, Thai-Moc Tram Tran, Flavia Megda Garcia, Samar Soltani, Martina Marradi, Hanh-Dan Ho, Antoinette Gohier, Chahinaz Doulazmi, Marianne Chesneau, Cécile Jadaan, Joy Bulut, Ndilyam Djonouma, Salma Charradi, Anne Claret Tournier, Philippe Fossati, Liane Schmidt
medRxiv Preprint Server April 23, 2026 preprint DOI: 10.64898/2026.04.23.26351276 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort |
|---|---|
| Intervention | Ketamine |
| Topics | Esketamine Ketamine |
| Key findings | The respective contributions of therapeutic expectations and dissociative symptoms to antidepressant response, and the directionality of their associations with depressive symptom change, remain poorly characterized. |
Abstract
Background Ketamine is a rapid-acting antidepressant that produces acute dissociative symptoms. In routine care, the respective contributions of therapeutic expectations and dissociative symptoms to antidepressant response, and the directionality of their associations with depressive symptom change, remain poorly characterized.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on ketamine, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taming the Ketamine Tiger Volunteers from a prison population | 2010 | Observational study | n = 20 |
| Increased spontaneous MEG signal diversity for psychoactive doses of ketamine, LSD and psilocybin Humans | 2017 | Observational study | |
| Disruption of Frontal–Parietal Communication by Ketamine, Propofol, and Sevoflurane Surgical patients undergoing induction of anesthesia with intravenous ketamine | 2013 | Observational cohort | n = 30 |
| Do the dissociative side effects of ketamine mediate its antidepressant effects? Treatment-resistant inpatients with major depressive disorder or bipolar disorder | 2014 | Observational cohort | n = 108 |
| Concomitant BDNF and sleep slow wave changes indicate ketamine-induced plasticity in major depressive disorder Patients with treatment-resistant major depressive disorder | 2012 | Observational cohort | n = 30 |
Citations in the library
Cites 20
- Measurement of dissociative states with the Clinician‐Administered Dissociative States Scale (CADSS) Journal of Traumatic Stress 1998
- Set and setting, psychedelics and the placebo response: An extra-pharmacological perspective on psychopharmacology Journal of Psychopharmacology November 16, 2016
- Do the dissociative side effects of ketamine mediate its antidepressant effects? Journal of Affective Disorders February 18, 2014
- Ketamine and rapid antidepressant action: new treatments and novel synaptic signaling mechanisms Neuropsychopharmacology July 24, 2023
- Ketamine for the treatment of major depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis EClinicalMedicine August 1, 2023
and 15 more in the library