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Ketamine blocks bursting in the lateral habenula to rapidly relieve depression

nature.com

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Re: Ketamine blocks bursting in the lateral habenula to rapidly relieve depression

#3

Post by softbuilder »

From Wikipedia[1]:

>The habenula receives input from the brain via the stria medullaris thalami and outputs to many midbrain areas involved in releasing neurotransmitters, such as dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin.

[1 ]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habenula

Re: Ketamine blocks bursting in the lateral habenula to rapidly relieve depression

#4

Post by rhombocombus »

It's so exciting that there is now a putative mechanism for this! Ketamine is such a curious drug, and this effect of it is one of the most interesting of all. Knowing the target will allow more focused therapies and possibly a greater understanding of depression in general.

Re: Ketamine blocks bursting in the lateral habenula to rapidly relieve depression

#5

Post by starpilot »

I have been looking into Ketamine as there is a clinic which administers Ketamine therapy in my area. The disappointing thing is that it looks like the effects are short lived, and one may need "booster" treatments every 4 weeks, at $400 a shot, for years and possibly forever. I hope with this understanding, we come up with something more permanent.

Re: Ketamine blocks bursting in the lateral habenula to rapidly relieve depression

#6

Post by lazerpants »

This is actually one of two papers published by the lab in Nature. The papers together go much further than just describing the mechanism of action of ketamine and propose a potential mechanism for a cause of depression.

Kir4.1 paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature25752

Re: Ketamine blocks bursting in the lateral habenula to rapidly relieve depression

#7

Post by Ophelias_Rue »

I know it's anecdotal, but I've been receiving ketamine at a local clinic for a few years for chronic depression and a spinal injury. It has proven too be the most effective treatment I've had for treating depression. As another poster said, it is short lived (around two months) But the release from depression, and back pain is life changing for me.

To go with the article, it is incredibly fast acting. Like same day results, I don't know if it's placebo or the ketamine but I'm happy with it as it gave me life back.

Re: Ketamine blocks bursting in the lateral habenula to rapidly relieve depression

#9

Post by mabbo »

Ophelias_Rue wrote: post #7

I know it's anecdotal, but I've been receiving ketamine at a local clinic for a few years for chronic depression and a spinal injury. It has proven too be the most effective treatment I've had for treating depression. As another poster said, it is short lived (around two months) But the release from depression, and back pain is life changing for me. To go with the article, it is incredibly fast acting. Like same day…

You get this done at a clinic- what's the effects like? I've heard terms like "K-hole" for heavy off-prescription users getting zonked by the stuff. I'm assuming you're taking a light dose? Can you drive yourself home?
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