(R)-Ketamine reduces alcohol intake and alcohol seeking induced by reconsolidation of alcohol-related memories in female Marchigian Sardinian alcohol-preferring rats.
Psychopharmacology November 15, 2025 Elisabetta Ciccocioppo, Sara Massetti, Marcus W Meinhardt et al.
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a major medical problem with limited treatments. (R)-ketamine, a form of the dissociative psychedelic with fewer dissociative and anesthetic effects than the racemic mixture, reduced alcohol consumption in female but not in male Marchigian Sardinian alcohol-preferring (msP) rats when given orally at doses of 10, 20, and 40 mg/kg in a two-bottle free choice 24-hour drinking paradigm. No effect was observed on alcohol self-administration. (R)-ketamine also attenuated the retrieval of alcohol-related memories in female but not in male rats. These results suggest (R)-ketamine attenuates alcohol-related behaviors in a sex-dependent manner, with females showing higher sensitivity, supporting clinical investigation in patients with AUD.