Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology
May 1, 2025
Johan Saelens, Anna Gramser, Victoria Watzal et al.
47 citations
A systematic review and network meta-analysis of 69 randomized controlled trials with 10,285 adults who had not responded to at least two antidepressant trials compared 25 treatments for treatment-resistant depression. Six treatments showed higher response rates than placebo or sham: electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) had the strongest effect, followed by minocycline, theta-burst stimulation, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, ketamine, and aripiprazole. Odds ratios ranged from 1.9 for aripiprazole to 12.86 for ECT. Moderate heterogeneity was observed. These findings may help guide evidence-based treatment choices for treatment-resistant depression.
Cerebral Cortex
September 6, 2018
Gregory M. James, Gregor Gryglewski, Thomas Vanicek et al.
16 citations
The cerebral cortex can be divided into distinct areas based on the density of proteins involved in the serotonin system. Using positron emission tomography in healthy participants, the study quantified serotonin 1A receptors (n = 30), 5-HT2A receptors (n = 22), the serotonin-degrading enzyme monoamine oxidase A (n = 32), and the serotonin transporter (n = 24). Clustering analysis identified five optimal clusters of cortical regions defined by these molecular profiles. These clusters explained the effects of psychotropic drugs acting on serotonin, such as antidepressants and psychedelics, suggesting the method is useful for integrating multimodal imaging data in neuropharmacology and psychiatry.
The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology
June 6, 2025
Benjamin Spurny-Dworak, Thomas Liebe, Samantha Graf et al.
2 citations
A single subanesthetic dose of intranasal esketamine rapidly increases the volume of specific right thalamic structures in healthy young adults. In a placebo-controlled crossover study with 26 participants, magnetic resonance imaging revealed significant enlargement of the right thalamus, the pulvinar anterior nucleus, and the right mediodorsal lateral parvocellular nucleus after esketamine administration. These structural changes occurred in thalamic regions that relay visual information to the cortex, suggesting that ketamine's effects on visual perception may arise from rapid adaptations in these brain areas. The findings highlight the thalamus as a key target for modeling schizophrenia symptoms and understanding ketamine's mechanism of action.
medRxiv Preprint Server
March 21, 2025
Leo R. Silberbauer, Benjamin Eggerstorfer, Paul Michenthaler et al.
1 citation
preprint
Oral ketamine may offer a more accessible alternative to intravenous and intranasal routes for treating depression, as it is easier to administer and has established safety and efficacy for chronic pain patients at home. The text suggests that current delivery methods limit ketamine's availability to specialized centers, but oral administration could expand access to antidepressant therapy.
Therapeutic advances in psychopharmacology
January 1, 2026
Manfred Klöbl, Thomas Liebe, Gregor Dörl et al.
Ketamine reduces sexual arousal in a sex-specific manner, which may explain why it is used recreationally in chemsex settings despite dampening sexual experience. In two placebo-controlled crossover studies with 67 healthy volunteers, subacute S-ketamine lowered arousal to heterosexual stimuli in women and to lesbian stimuli in men, while decreasing sexual aversion to gay stimuli in both sexes. Late racemic ketamine reduced arousal to heterosexual stimuli in men but increased aversion to gay stimuli in women. Ketamine also modulated calcarine gyrus activity differently in men and women. These sex-dependent effects on brain activity and sexual response may relate to ketamine's known sex-specific influences on stress resilience and psychosis-like symptoms.