Breaking through anhedonia: How ketamine reignites the drive for rewards.

Summary

Ketamine's remarkable ability to restore pleasure-seeking behavior stems from its effects on specific brain reward circuits. The drug repairs stress-damaged connections in the brain's pleasure center, particularly in neurons that respond to dopamine. This repair process helps restore natural reward-seeking behaviors and motivation, offering hope for treating conditions where people struggle to feel pleasure or satisfaction in daily activities.

Abstract

In this issue of Neuron, Pignatelli et al.1 find that ketamine reverses stress-induced changes in excitatory synapses in nucleus accumbens D1 dopamine receptor-expressing medium spiny neurons (D1-MSNs) and that these changes are necessary for the treatment of anhedonia-like behavior.

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