Ketamine increases activity of a fronto-striatal projection that regulates compulsive behavior
bioRxiv Preprint Server July 6, 2020 Gwynne L. Davis, Adelaide R. Minerva, Argentina Lario et al. preprint
Ketamine rapidly reduces compulsive grooming in a mouse model of obsessive-compulsive disorder by increasing activity in a specific brain circuit connecting the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex to the dorsomedial striatum. Optogenetically mimicking this increased fronto-striatal activity also rescued compulsive behavior, while inhibiting this circuit in normal mice increased grooming. These findings suggest this neural pathway may underlie ketamine's fast-acting therapeutic effects in OCD.