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01-04-2017 | Original Article

Ketamine-dependent neuronal activation in healthy volunteers

Authors: Anna Höflich, Andreas Hahn, Martin Küblböck, Georg S. Kranz, Thomas Vanicek, Sebastian Ganger, Marie Spies, Christian Windischberger, Siegfried Kasper, Dietmar Winkler, Rupert Lanzenberger

Published in: Brain Structure and Function | Issue 3/2017

Abstract

Over the last years, a number of studies have been conducted to clarify the neurobiological correlates of ketamine application. However, comprehensive information regarding the influence of ketamine on cortical activity is still lacking. Using resting-state functional MRI and integrating pharmacokinetic information, a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover study was performed to determine the effects of ketamine on neuronal activation. During a 55 min resting-state fMRI scan, esketamine (Ketanest S^®) was administered intravenously to 35 healthy volunteers. Neural activation as indicated by the BOLD signal using the pharmacokinetic curve of ketamine plasma levels as a regressor was computed. Compared with placebo, ketamine-dependent increases of neural activation were observed in the midcingulate cortex, the dorsal part of the anterior cingulate cortex, the insula bilaterally, and the thalamus (t values ranging between 5.95–9.78, p < 0.05; FWE-corrected). A significant decrease of neural activation in the ketamine condition compared to placebo was found in a cluster within the subgenual/subcallosal part of the anterior cingulate cortex, the orbitofrontal cortex and the gyrus rectus (t = 7.81, p < 0.05, FWE-corrected). Using an approach combining pharmacological and fMRI data, important information about the neurobiological correlates of the clinical antidepressant effects of ketamine could be revealed.

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Title: Ketamine-dependent neuronal activation in healthy volunteers
Authors: Anna Höflich
Andreas Hahn
Martin Küblböck
Georg S. Kranz
Thomas Vanicek
Sebastian Ganger
Marie Spies
Christian Windischberger
Siegfried Kasper
Dietmar Winkler
Rupert Lanzenberger
Publication date: 01-04-2017
Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in: Brain Structure and Function / Issue 3/2017
Print ISSN: 1863-2653
Electronic ISSN: 1863-2661
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-016-1291-0

At a glance: The STEP trials

Springer Medicine

Ketamine-dependent neuronal activation in healthy volunteers

Abstract

At a glance: The STEP trials

Springer Medicine

Abstract

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