Antidepressant actions of ketamine: from molecular mechanisms to clinical practice

This review (2015) provides an overview of the antidepressant mechanism of ketamine, clinical studies with ketamine, and its use in shaping the development of next-generation treatments, which include better tolerated non-ketamine NMDA antagonists and other non-NMDA glutamatergic modulators.

Abstract

Review: In the past decade the emergence of glutamate N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor blockers such as ketamine as fast-acting antidepressants fostered a major conceptual advance by demonstrating the possibility of a rapid antidepressant response. This discovery brings unique mechanistic insight into antidepressant action, as there is a substantial amount of basic knowledge on glutamatergic neurotransmission and how blockade of NMDA receptors may elicit plasticity. The combination of this basic knowledge base and the growing clinical findings will facilitate the development of novel fast acting antidepressants.”

Authors: Lisa M. Monteggia & Carlos Zarate

Study details

Compounds studied
Ketamine

Topics studied
Neuroscience

Study characteristics
Literature Review

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