Ketamine for Unipolar Depression

Learn the essentials of psychopharmacology from Dr. Stephen Stahl! This clip from Stahl’s Essential Psychopharmacology, Video Edition covers how ketamine could be a potential treatment option for depression. Learn more: nei.global/epvideos
Ketamine is an approved anesthetic but used off-label for treatment-resistant depression. So, how does ketamine induce its rapid antidepressant response and rapid reversal of synaptic atrophy in depression? This is thought to occur because ketamine causes an immediate burst of downstream glutamate release after blocking NMDA receptors. Most interesting perhaps is the possibility that ketamine causes immediate improvement in neuronal plasticity as its downstream mechanism of immediately improving depression.
About: In Stahl’s Essential Psychopharmacology: Video Edition, the newly published fifth edition of the landmark textbook comes to life as Dr. Stahl himself presents every chapter with fully animated illustrations. Learn more: nei.global/epvideos
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[@eflodur26]

An glutamate boost alone is not a good explanation why ketamin has an antidepressive effect if this alone would do the trick tianeptin would have the same effect.

[@alexanderb4465]

At the end of the video he mentions other drugs that also act on the NMDA receptor. Which drugs are they?

[@erinmalone2669]

I really want to try this. It’s expensive to do it right, not with street versions

[@HIRAMECLARKEHOPS]

​@Sandrabill252shut up robot. I heard onions have your back if you need cheap therapy.

[@czanderrr]

​@@HIRAMECLARKEHOPSI thought they cracked down on onions

[@felipegodoygajardo7273]

i wish i could have saw this video before

[@tjloehnert]

He mentioned at 4:58 that he has a lecture on what might be wrong with depression. Where can I find that lecture?

[@MrYusha]

Click on description and scroll down. It might be there.

[@drpsychnice4959]

Can it pinifit in dementia, autism, intillictiusl disability and other brain degenerative dis.?

[@eflodur26]

Very good question.

[@driftwood757]

Another NMDA antagonist called dextromethorphan has been shown to reduce inflammation in TBI. It's possible it helps dementia, need more research to see.