The endogenous opioid system in the medial prefrontal cortex mediates ketamine's antidepressant-like actions.
Translational psychiatry – February 12, 2024
Source: PubMed
Summary
Ketamine's remarkable antidepressant effects are linked to natural opioid activity in the brain's prefrontal cortex. Scientists discovered that ketamine boosts levels of β-endorphin (our body's natural feel-good chemical) and activates opioid receptors in this key brain region. When researchers blocked these opioid signals, ketamine's mood-lifting effects disappeared, revealing how this promising treatment works to fight depression.
Abstract
Recent studies have implicated the endogenous opioid system in the antidepressant actions of ketamine, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. We used a combination of pharmacological, behavioral, and molecular approaches in rats to test the contribution of the prefrontal endogenous opioid system to the antidepressant-like effects of a single dose of ketamine. Both the behavioral actions of ketamine and their molecular correlates in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) are blocked by acute systemic administration of naltrexone, a competitive opioid receptor antagonist. Naltrexone delivered directly into the mPFC similarly disrupts the behavioral effects of ketamine. Ketamine treatment rapidly increases levels of β-endorphin and the expression of the μ-opioid receptor gene (Oprm1) in the mPFC, and the expression of gene that encodes proopiomelanocortin, the precursor of β-endorphin, in the hypothalamus, in vivo. Finally, neutralization of β-endorphin in the mPFC using a specific antibody prior to ketamine treatment abolishes both behavioral and molecular effects. Together, these findings indicate that presence of β-endorphin and activation of opioid receptors in the mPFC are required for the antidepressant-like actions of ketamine.