Depression, Ketamine Treatment, and the Theater of Consciousness
Michael A. Cerullo, A. Stryker
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Intervention | Ketamine |
| Topics | Depression Esketamine Ketamine |
| Key points | Argues that ketamine's ability to stop suicidal thoughts in as little as 20 minutes, far faster than traditional treatments, raises new questions about the self and identity, and proposes that multiple competing self modules in the brain, consistent with a modified global workspace theory of consciousness, could explain such rapid belief change without invoking unrealistic neural specificity such as grandmother cells for belief. |
Abstract
In severe depression thoughts of suicide can develop over weeks or months. Traditional pharmacologic or psychotherapeutic treatments take several weeks before they begin to improve symptoms. This gradual improvement is consistent with our everyday experience of the self. However, a new treatment, ketamine, can alter depressive symptoms within hours or even minutes. Ketamine can stop suicidal thoughts in as little as 20 minutes and is being developed to treat suicidal patients in the emergency room. Rapid changes in a belief as complex as suicide raise new questions about the self and identity. More complicated models of the self are required to understand how rapid changes in complex beliefs are possible without invoking unrealistic specificity in the brain (i.e. grandmother cells for belief). If the brain has multiple competing selves within modules then ketamine could work by either turning a self module on or off. This is consistent with a modified version of the global workspace theory of consciousness where a self module provides the context for the spotlight of attention.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on ketamine for depression, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| An Integrative Approach to Ketamine Therapy May Enhance Multiple Dimensions of Efficacy: Improving Therapeutic Outcomes With Treatment Resistant Depression. | 2021 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Arketamine for cognitive impairment in psychiatric disorders | 2023 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Montreal model: an integrative biomedical-psychedelic approach to ketamine for severe treatment-resistant depression | 2023 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Ketamine in Bipolar Disorder: A Review | 2020 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Rethinking the role of TRKB in the action of antidepressants and psychedelics. | 2024 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cites 5
- A Randomized Trial of an N-methyl-D-aspartate Antagonist in Treatment-Resistant Major Depression Archives of General Psychiatry August 1, 2006
- A Review of the Nonmedical Use of Ketamine: Use, Users and Consequences Journal of Psychoactive Drugs December 1, 2000
- Ketamine infusions for treatment resistant depression: a series of 28 patients treated weekly or twice weekly in an ECT clinic Journal of Psychopharmacology June 1, 2014
- A preliminary naturalistic study of low-dose ketamine for depression and suicide ideation in the emergency department. The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology May 5, 2011
- Global workspace theory of consciousness: toward a cognitive neuroscience of human experience. Progress in Brain Research 2005