Researcher/Clinician Working to Unlock Ketamine’s Mysteries
Psychiatric News December 31, 2014 DOI: 10.1176/appi.pn.2015.12b23 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | News report Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Anxiety Ketamine Esketamine |
| Keywords | Mood Mental health Psychoanalysis Psychotherapist |
| Key points | Profiles psychiatrist-scientist Mark Niciu, M.D., Ph.D., tracing his early interest in science to his mother, an elementary school science teacher. Niciu is quoted arguing that good psychiatrist-scientists need passion, inquisitiveness, and willingness to follow unexpected findings, which he says is how ketamine's antidepressant effect was discovered. |
Abstract
The stars were already aligning in childhood for a boy who would eventually become "a rising star in the area of mood and alcohol disorders research." When Mark Niciu, M. D. , Ph. D. , was growing up, it looked as if the stage was already being set for his future career. Mark Niciu, M. D. , Ph. D. : "To be a good psychiatrist-scientist, you need to be passionate, inquisitive, and willing to follow unexpected findings. That was how ketamine's antidepressant effect was discovered." Joan Arehart-TreichelHis mother, an elementary school science teacher, ignited his interest in science.