Changes in depression symptom network structure following ketamine treatment in treatment-resistant depression.
J Affect Disord May 14, 2026 Joshua Curtiss, Laya Dasari, Julianne Origlio et al.
Patients with treatment-resistant depression whose symptoms are loosely connected before ketamine therapy are more likely to respond than those with tightly linked symptoms. Among 447 patients receiving intravenous ketamine or intranasal eskatamine, non-responders had denser pre-treatment symptom networks (global strength 4.03) compared with responders (global strength 1.06). After treatment, responders' network strength increased, while non-responders' decreased. Sparse baseline symptom networks may indicate greater capacity for reorganization, making pre-treatment network density a potential marker of ketamine response.