Computational modeling of ketamine-induced changes in gamma-band oscillations: The contribution of parvalbumin and somatostatin interneurons.
PLoS computational biology June 9, 2025 Jessie Rademacher, Tineke Grent-'t-Jong, Davide Rivolta et al. 2 citations
Ketamine, an NMDA receptor antagonist given at sub-anesthetic doses, flattens the aperiodic slope of brain activity and increases gamma-band power (30–90 Hz), especially in prefrontal and central regions. These effects correlate with gene expression of parvalbumin and GluN2D. A computational model of cortical layer 2/3 shows that reducing NMDA receptor activity in parvalbumin or somatostatin interneurons boosts pyramidal neuron firing, reproducing the gamma power increase but not the aperiodic slope change. This suggests parvalbumin and somatostatin interneurons drive the gamma power rise, while the aperiodic component involves other mechanisms, challenging current excitation/inhibition balance models.