Ketamine as a Novel Antidepressant: From Synapse to Behavior
Open accessAbstract
Recent reports of a rapid antidepressant effect of the glutamate N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist ketamine, even in treatment-resistant populations, have spurred translational therapeutic and neuroscience research aimed at elucidating ketamine's mechanism of action. This article provides a concise overview of research findings that pertain to the effects of low-dose ketamine at the cellular, neurocircuitry, and behavioral levels and describes an integrated model of the action of ketamine in the treatment of depression.
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Newly discovered fast-acting antidepressant treatments such as ketamine and scopolamine produce effects on mood within hours or days of treatment.
“If this is correct, then how can newly discovered fast-acting antidepressant treatments such as ketamine83 and scopolamine,84 which produce effects on mood within hours or days of treatment, be accommodated within the model?”
From The effects of drugs on human models of emotional processing: an account of antidepressant drug treatment (2015) · cites this paper as [83]
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- Authors
- Murrough, J. W.
- Affiliations
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (US)
- Corresponding author
- Murrough, J W
- ORCID
- Murrough, J W
- Venue
- Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2011-12-28
- Volume
- 91
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 303-309
- ISSN
- 0009-9236 (ISSN-L)
- 1532-6535
- PMC
- PMC3673880
- OpenAlex
- W2072878669
- Cited by
- 172
- References
- 42
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 20 · 2015: 26 · 2014: 14 · 2013: 26 · 2012: 19
- FWCI
- 2.40
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- europepmc.org
- Locations
- Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Mental Health (K23MH094707)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Treatment of Major Depression
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Electroconvulsive Therapy Studies
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
- Keywords
- ketamine, antidepressant mechanism, depression, treatment-resistant depression, NMDA receptor antagonism, glutamate, synapses, neurocircuitry, low-dose ketamine, rapid antidepressant effects
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Antidepressive Agents, Brain, Clinical Trials as Topic, Disease Models, Animal, Humans, Ketamine, Neural Pathways, Synaptic Transmission, Depressive Disorder, Treatment-Resistant
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