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The profile of cognitive impairments in chronic ketamine users.

Xiaoyin Ke, Yi Ding, Ke Xu, Hongbo He, Daping Wang, Xuefeng Deng, Xifan Zhang, Yanling Zhou, Chao Zhou, Yuping Liu, Yuping Ning, Ni Fan

Psychiatry Research August 2018 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2018.05.050 (opens in new tab)

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Characteristics Observational cross-sectional study Peer reviewed
Sample size 128
Population 63 chronic ketamine users and 65 healthy subjects
Measures immediate/delayed visual reproduction (IVR/DVR), immediate/delayed logical memory (ILM/DLM), Stroop test, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), continuous performance test (CPT), Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI)
Topics Depression Ketamine Esketamine
Keywords Cognitive function Psychotic symptoms
Key findings Chronic ketamine users performed worse than healthy controls on immediate and delayed visual reproduction, immediate and delayed logical memory, Stroop, and auditory continuous performance tests, indicating cognitive impairments across multiple domains. Among users, some memory and attention scores correlated with education, average ketamine dose, duration of use, and time since last use.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the cognitive function in chronic ketamine users. Factors correlated to cognition impairments were analyzed. Sixty-three chronic ketamine users and 65 healthy subjects were recruited. Cognitive function was assessed by using immediate/delayed visual reproduction (IVR/DVR) tasks, immediate/delayed logical memory (ILM/DLM) tasks, Stroop test, Wisconsin card sorting test (WCST), and continuous performance test (CPT). Psychopathological symptoms were assessed with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). Ketamine users performed worse than controls on the IVR, ILM, DLM, Stroop and auditory CPT tests. IVR and DVR, color-naming and color-interference-reading scores were positively correlated with education level. In ketamine users ILM scores were negatively correlated with the negative subscale of PANSS. DLM score was positively correlated with average dose of ketamine use. Word-reading score was positively correlated with education level, and negatively correlated with duration of ketamine use. False hits in auditory CPT was positively correlated with duration of ketamine use. Number of trials to complete the first category and perseverative errors on WCST were positively correlated with the duration between the test and last ketamine use. Chronic ketamine users had cognitive impairments across multiple domains.

Comparable studies

Other cross-sectional and survey studies on ketamine for depression, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
Parental Attitudes Toward Use of Ketamine in Adolescent Mood Disorders and Suicidality English-speaking parents of adolescents 2021 Cross-sectional survey n = 283
A Real-World Study on the Use, Effectiveness, and Safety of Esketamine Nasal Spray in Patients with Treatment-Resistant Depression: INTEGRATE Study. Adults aged 18-74 years with treatment-resistant depression in Spain 2025 Observational, cross-sectional, retrospective study n = 196
Self-Reported Improvements in Comorbid Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms, Depression, Anxiety, and Sleep Among Real-World Patients Receiving Medical Ketamine: Exploring the Role of Adjunct Therapies. Real-world patients with PTSD (n=98) and without PTSD (n=104) who received ketamine... 2025 Secondary analysis of survey data n = 202
Attitudes and Perceptions of Portuguese Psychiatrists and Psychologists on the Clinical Use of Ketamine. Portuguese psychiatrists and psychologists 2025 Cross-sectional survey n = 156
Efficacy of Electroconvulsive Therapy and Ketamine Therapy in Major Depressive Disorder; A Comparative Study Hospitalized patients with major depressive disorder 2023 Comparative cross-sectional study n = 40

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