Effect of Ketamine on LTP and NMDAR EPSC in Hippocampus of the Chronic Social Defeat Stress Mice Model of Depression
Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience October 9, 2018 Yu Yang, Weina Ju, Haining Zhang et al. 80 citations
Mice exposed to chronic social defeat stress showed reduced spatial working memory and contextual fear memory, along with decreased levels of the NMDA receptor subunit NR2B, reduced long-term potentiation, and smaller NMDA receptor-mediated currents in the hippocampus. Ketamine treatment reversed these memory deficits and increased NR2B expression, LTP, and NMDA receptor-mediated currents. The findings suggest that depression-related memory dysfunction involves downregulation of hippocampal NR2B and synaptic plasticity, and that ketamine's antidepressant effects include restoring these measures.