Exploring the Neurobiology of Ketamine

Summary

• Ketamine is a fast-acting antidepressant that decreases anxiety and depression in a number of ways.
• One way that ketamine helps treat mental health issues is by quieting a system of the brain that contributes for persistent, negative thoughts, the default mode network (DMN). Negative thoughts are a common symptom of anxiety and depression.
• Ketamine also fuels new connections, synapses, in the brain, and allows for the regrowth of damaged ones. This may help people suffering from anxiety and depression change existing negative thought patterns.
• When paired with support, these neurological changes can help decrease anxiety and depression symptoms.

While its primary use is as an anesthetic, ketamine is increasingly being used as a fast-acting treatment for anxiety and depression, and has been used in this manner for at least two decades. But how exactly does it affect the brain to help achieve positive mental health outcomes?

This article discusses how conditions like depression and anxiety can cause neurological issues, how ketamine works to influence the brain’s healing, and the beneficial outcomes of ketamine therapy.

Trauma and chronic stress can damage the brain and affect your thinking

Depression and anxiety can often present themselves as persistent negative thoughts. These thoughts can be caused by unresolved traumatic experiences or chronic stresses in our lives. 

While these thoughts can become overwhelming and impact our ability to live happy lives from a behavioral perspective, trauma and chronic stress can also have a negative biological effect on the brain.

When people suffer from chronic anxiety and depression, their neurochemistry changes. When doctors do brain scans, they see fewer neural connections, specifically fewer spines on neurons. Anxiety and depression are not only psychological, they are biological.

Ketamine offers relief from persistent negative thoughts

The “default mode network” (DMN) is a system of brain regions involved in memory, emotion, and our normal sense of self. It is one of the regions that is active when we are experiencing anxious or depressive thoughts, and when we are in a state of rest. 

Ketamine temporarily decreases activity in this part of the brain, providing a reprieve from the thoughts and habitual patterns that may be present normally. This offers relief from persistent negative thoughts and the chance to create new, healthier patterns in life.

A secondary outcome of this effect is that the calming of the DMN can provide unique perspectives and novel experiences as an individual's sense of self is altered. This provides opportunities for catharsis, healing, insight, and the discovery of new opportunities in one’s life.

Ketamine fuels new synaptic growth

Ketamine helps the brain produce a special protein called “brain-derived neurotrophic factor” (BDNF), which acts like a fertilizer for neuronal growth, specifically around synaptic repair and growth.

Ketamine therapy can lead to more, and potentially healthier, brain connections. This helps to heal damaged connections, and create opportunities for new, healthier ways of thinking and acting in the world. 

Ketamine and the future of mental healthcare

Ketamine is a fascinating medicine that works on our brains in many different ways, which may explain why it seems to work so well for so many different people.

With research showing its ability to promote the creation of new, healthy neural connections and repair damaged areas – ketamine can be a powerful tool for managing anxiety, depression, and other major mental health conditions.