Sleep-administered ketamine/psychedelics: A streamlined strategy to address two challenges in research on ketamine and psychedelics.
Shokouh Arjmand, Mats B Lindström, Carl M Sellgren, Gregers Wegener
European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists February 5, 2025 DOI: 10.1192/j.eurpsy.2025.14 via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractThe dissociative effects of ketamine and psychedelics may be linked to their rapid antidepressant properties, but it is unclear whether these effects are necessary for therapeutic action. Because patients can often tell whether they received an active drug or placebo based on the dissociative experience, clinical trial results may be biased. The authors propose a novel approach: administering these drugs to patients during sleep to separate the subjective dissociative experience from the drug's biological effects, potentially allowing for better-controlled studies.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Interventions | Ketamine Psychedelics |
| Topics | Ketamine |
| Keywords | Mechanism of action Rapid-acting antidepressants Psychedelics hallucinogens Entheogens |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key finding | Administering ketamine or psychedelics during sleep could help determine whether their dissociative effects are necessary for antidepressant action and reduce bias in clinical trials. |
Abstract
The dissociative effects of ketamine and psychedelics might be associated with their rapid antidepressant properties, raising questions about whether these effects are necessary for their therapeutic action. Additionally, the distinct dissociative experiences often reported by patients in clinical trials may reveal whether they receive an active treatment or a placebo, potentially introducing bias into the results. In this viewpoint, we propose administering ketamine/psychedelics to patients during sleep, offering a novel approach to address and explore these challenges.