ReviewInternational journal of molecular sciences2024
Beyond NMDA Receptors: A Narrative Review of Ketamine's Rapid and Multifaceted Mechanisms in Depression Treatment.
Review in International journal of molecular sciences, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Is the antidepressant efficacy of ketamine and esketamine mediated via opioid mechanisms?European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists · 2026Pooled it
- Review
- Psychoactive and Neurobiological Effects of Ketamine in Humans: A Scoping Review of Clinical Evidence.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Synaptic Plasticity-Intrinsic Excitability and Antidepressant Discovery.Biomedicines · 2026Review
- Effect of Perioperative Ketamine on Early Postpartum Depressive Symptoms Following Cesarean Section: A Meta-Analysis.Cureus · 2026Review
- The synaptic triad in depression: how stress-related pathways converge on BDNF, NMDA receptor, and MMP-9.Pharmacological reports : PR · 2026Review
- Biological Risk Factors for Suicidal Behavior in Children and Adolescents: A Narrative Review.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- L-tetrahydropalmatine attenuates ketamine reward effect via modulating the miR-27a-3p/MAP2K4 axis.Frontiers in genetics · 2026Article
- Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Chronic High-Dose Ketamine-Induced Apoptosis in the Hippocampus: A Narrative Review.Neurochemical research · 2025Review
- Molecular Mechanisms of Depression: The Interplay Between Genes and Receptors.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Mindfulness, music, visual occlusion in ketamine therapy for depression: do they change outcomes? A qualitative and quantitative analysis of a randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The rising prevalence of depression, with its associated suicide risk, demands effective fast-acting treatments. Ketamine has emerged as promising, demonstrating rapid antidepressant effects. While early studies show swift mood improvements, its precise mechanisms remain unclear. This article aims to compile and synthesize the literature on ketamine's molecular actions. Ketamine primarily works by antagonizing NMDA receptors, reducing GABAergic inhibition, and increasing glutamate release. This enhanced glutamate activates AMPA receptors, triggering crucial downstream cascades, including BDNF-TrkB and mTOR pathways, promoting synaptic proliferation and regeneration. Moreover, neuroimaging studies have demonstrated alterations in brain networks involved in emotional regulation, including the Default Mode Network (DMN), Central Executive Network (CEN), and Salience Network (SN), which are frequently disrupted in depression. Despite the promising findings, the literature reveals significant inaccuracies and gaps in understanding the full scope of ketamine's therapeutic potential. For instance, ketamine engages with opioid receptors, insinuating a permissive role of the opioid system in amplifying ketamine's antidepressant effects, albeit ketamine does not operate as a direct opioid agonist. Further exploration is requisite to comprehensively ascertain its safety profile, long-term efficacy, and the impact of genetic determinants, such as BDNF polymorphisms, on treatment responsiveness.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.