Cognitive and subjective acute dose effects of intramuscular ketamine in healthy adults.
Experimental and clinical psychopharmacology November 1, 2006 Michelle R Lofwall, Roland R Griffiths, Miriam Z Mintzer 57 citations
Ketamine, a drug that blocks NMDA receptors, produces selective, temporary, dose- and time-related effects on memory and cognition. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study, 18 healthy adults received low or moderate doses of ketamine. Ketamine impaired memory encoding (free recall) and working memory speed, but spared retrieval, recognition, source memory, attention, and accuracy on a symbol substitution task. Subjective effects lasted longer than memory or psychomotor impairments, and there were no hallucinations or mystical experiences. The findings help clarify the role of NMDA receptors in different cognitive processes.