Current antidepressants have shown certain limitations in the treatment of unipolar depression. Their long onset of action, interactions, and side effects are obstacles to achieving lasting remission of this prevalent, often chronic or recurrent, pathology. Faced with this clinical necessity, research efforts have intensified in recent years around psychedelic drugs, with a particular focus on...
Cell ReportsMay 21, 2025Lace M Riggs, Sage Aronson, Ta-Chung M. Mou et al.2 citations
An acute increase in excitatory synaptic transmission contributes to the rapid antidepressant actions of neuroplastogens, including ketamine and its bioactive metabolite, (2R,6R)-hydroxynorketamine (HNK). It is hypothesized that drug-induced metaplastic changes in synaptic strength account for therapeutically relevant behavioral adaptations in vivo. Using the plasticity-deficient Wistar Kyoto...
BMC PsychologyMay 20, 2025Bahr Weiss, Van Vu, Hoang-Minh Dang et al.2 citations
Depression presents a substantial world-wide public health burden. Although evidence-based treatments exist, the majority of individuals with depression do not receive evidence-based treatments, particularly in low-and-middle-income countries, due to (a) scarcity of mental health professionals, and (b) mental health-related stigma. One approach addressing these issues is task-shifting, transfer...
Deviation from the balanced time perspective (DBTP) refers to difficulties in switching between different time frames in a flexible way by considering the situational demands. DBTP is associated with higher levels of depression and anxiety. Mindfulness acts as a protective mechanism against depression and anxiety. The current study examined the moderator role of mindfulness in the relationship...
Ketamine has a long history as an anesthetic but has recently demonstrated antidepressant effects at sub-anesthetic doses (Matveychuk et al., 2020). For individuals with treatment-resistant depression (TRD), typical antidepressants are frequently ineffective, whereas ketamine’s unique mechanisms have demonstrated promising results in reducing depressive symptoms where other treatments have...
NeuropharmacologyMay 15, 2025Yazhou Wen, Jin Zhou, Huiling Yu et al.2 citations
Prenatal stress leads to postpartum depression and is associated with developmental issues in offspring. Esketamine quickly and effectively prevents or treats postpartum depression. However, the long-term effects of esketamine on progeny development are unknown. CRS during pregnancy was used to establish the postpartum depression animal model. After confirming pregnancy, all mice were randomly...
Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) are widely employed in mental health promotion and treatment. Despite widespread evidence of effectiveness with different populations and delivery modes, there are sparse findings concerning the mechanisms of action in MBIs. This study, based on a secondary evaluation of two randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with student participants, was aimed at...
Understanding the effects of ketamine on depressive symptoms could help identify which patients might benefit and clarify its mechanism of action in both the early (≤1 day post-infusion) and late (e.g. 2-30 days post-infusion) post-infusion periods. Symptom network analyses could provide complementary information regarding relationships between symptoms. To identify the effects of ketamine on...
To analyze the symptoms, courses, and severities of depressive disorder, as well as the morphological changes in the spleens and related immune mechanisms, we recruited patients with first-episode or recurrent major depressive disorder (MDD) (patient group) and healthy controls (normal group) matched in age and gender. We measured their plasma MICB (pg/ml), ULBP1 (ng/ml), and splenic volume...
PharmaceuticalsMay 9, 2025Ilaria Ammendolia, Carmen Mannucci, Emanuela Esposito et al.2 citations
Background/Objective: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a common mental disorder, with a significant portion of patients developing treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Esketamine is an antagonist of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor indicated as a nasal spray in combination with other antidepressants for adults with TRD. Signals of suspected adverse reactions (SARs) to esketamine from the...