Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry
January 10, 2025
Wanting Feng, Chengfeng Chen, Yexian Zeng et al.
9 citations
A meta-analysis of 49 clinical trials with 3,982 participants found that a single dose of ketamine significantly reduces suicidal ideation within 4 hours, with the strongest effect at 24 hours, and benefits lasting up to one month. Repeated doses also produced similar anti-suicidal effects at treatment endpoint and beyond one month. There was no statistical difference in efficacy or duration between single and multiple doses. The analysis suggests that even a single ketamine administration may provide a rapid and lasting reduction in suicidal thoughts.
Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland)
March 26, 2025
Sihui Zheng, Bin Zhang, Haichun Zhou et al.
1 citation
Mindfulness and executive function (EF) are related in upper-elementary students in rural China. Fourth graders had lower mindfulness scores than fifth graders. Mindfulness training improved mindfulness and working memory in fourth graders with average mindfulness levels, but improvements in inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility were not statistically significant. Children with higher mindfulness also performed better on EF measures.
Current neuropharmacology
January 1, 2025
Wei Zheng, Limei Gu, Jianqiang Tan et al.
1 citation
Repeated intravenous ketamine infusions rapidly reduce anhedonia in both younger and older adults with major depressive episodes, but older patients show a weaker response. In a study of 135 patients (116 younger, 19 older) receiving six ketamine infusions over 12 days, anhedonia scores dropped significantly in both age groups within 4 hours of the first infusion, with effects maintained throughout treatment. By day 26, younger patients had lower anhedonia scores than older patients. The antianhedonic response rate was 51.7% in younger patients versus 31.6% in older patients, and remission occurred in 24.1% of younger patients but none of the older patients.
Zümrüt Duygu Sen, Nitin Sharma, Lena Vera Danyeli et al.
preprint
Ketamine causes temporary dissociative experiences alongside its rapid therapeutic effects. This study examined whether pleasant and unpleasant dissociations can be predicted by functional connectivity of the posteromedial cortex (PMC) in 35 male participants during ultrahigh-field MRI. Pleasant dissociation (oceanic boundlessness) was predicted by PMC connections with control network regions at baseline and during infusion, and additionally with default mode network regions during infusion. Unpleasant dissociation (anxious ego dissolution) could not be predicted by PMC connectivity. The findings suggest distinct brain mechanisms for pleasant versus unpleasant dissociations, and that PMC connectivity changes may be a shared neural feature of dissociation from both ketamine and psychedelics.