Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry
January 10, 2025
Peipei Wang, Junmei Hu, Congliang Chen et al.
2 citations
Ketamine, a psychoactive substance strictly regulated by international drug conventions, is classified as a new type drug due to its excitatory, hallucinogenic, or inhibitory effects. The immune regulatory mechanism is the most prominent among several theories explaining ketamine-induced psychiatric symptoms. Recent research highlights the interaction between the immune system and nervous system in neuropsychiatric disorders, with peripheral lymphocyte infiltration into the central nervous system as an early hallmark. This article provides a comprehensive overview of pathophysiological processes in psychiatric disorders, including those from ketamine, covering nerve damage, central immune alterations, and peripheral immune regulation. It emphasizes the crosstalk between peripheral and central immune systems in the onset and progression of psychiatric diseases, offering fresh perspectives on mechanisms, diagnosis, and therapeutic strategies for drug abuse-related mental disorders.
Journal of molecular neuroscience : MN
July 12, 2025
Weihao Fan, Yi Ye, Hongkun Yang et al.
1 citation
Ketamine, originally developed as an anesthetic, is now being studied for depression treatment, but its addictive potential is a growing concern. This research used a mouse model of ketamine-induced conditioned place preference (CPP) to investigate changes in the striatum, a brain region involved in reward. Advanced metabolomics techniques revealed that ketamine abuse alters striatal metabolites, affecting pathways related to arginine synthesis, purine metabolism, and morphine addiction. Specifically, ketamine increased the neurotransmitter kynurenine (Kyn) and decreased dopamine (DA) in the striatum. These disturbances in Kyn and DA metabolism may underlie the addictive behaviors seen in the CPP model, offering new insights into ketamine addiction mechanisms.
Journal of psychiatry & neuroscience : JPN
January 1, 2024
Peipei Wang, Linzhi Jiang, Junmei Hu et al.
1 citation
In a mouse model of schizophrenia induced by ketamine, the number of peripheral CD3+ T cells increased. Analysis of metabolites in these immune cells and in plasma showed that amino acid metabolism was substantially altered, with elevated levels of glycine, alanine, asparagine, and aspartic acid. The precise amino acid metabolism pathway driving the schizophrenia-like phenotype has not yet been identified. The findings suggest that the metabolic profile of peripheral immune cells could provide biomarkers for diagnosing and treating psychiatric diseases.