Ketamine: NMDA Receptors and Beyond
Journal of Neuroscience November 2, 2016 Charles F. Zorumski, Yukitoshi Izumi, Steven Mennerick 252 citations
Ketamine, a dissociative anesthetic, has drawn attention for both its psychosis-like effects and its rapid antidepressant action. While ketamine clearly inhibits NMDARs and may preferentially affect interneurons, recent research questions whether NMDAR blockade is essential for its mood-elevating effects. This viewpoint reviews evidence that NMDARs are important triggers for some psychiatric effects, but the antidepressant trigger might be unrelated to NMDARs. The evolving understanding of ketamine's mechanisms holds promise for disentangling and treating the biology of depression and psychosis.