Scientists have sought to find out the mechanisms of action of this treatment in people who are not helped by traditional antidepressants.
On October 5, the CNRS published a press release in which it recalled in the preamble that a person affected by the depression out of three do not answer “not the most commonly prescribed antidepressants”.
The ketamine, a molecule synthesized in the 1960s for veterinary use but diverted for psychedelic purposes, has certainly already demonstrated positive effects on resistant depressions. But its mechanisms of action are still shrouded in mystery.
Negative beliefs, a symptom of depression
Scientists from Inserm, the Institute of brain and the CNRS wanted to analyze a very specific symptom of the disease, and this is the estimation of the occurrence of negative events in the lives of depressives.
An observational study which made it possible to determine that 4 hours following taking the treatment, the patients presented with a reinforced cognitive bias. Their optimism was heightened, and they became more sensitive to information that contradicted these negative beliefs.
A core belief system
Liane Schmidt, neuroscience researcher at Inserm, summed up at Liberation :
Patients with depression are locked into negative beliefs regarding themselves, the future and the world. This cognitive triad heart disease is resistant to more positive suggestions that contradict them.
However, an optimistic cognitive bias is essential for good mental health, because it blocks the effects of negative information.
Ketamine and psychotherapy?
The Inserm specialist adds: “This cognitive effect might be a clinical response for people with severe depression and/or for those at imminent risk”.
These results, published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, open new therapeutic avenues in the management of mood disorders resistant to antidepressants. By associating this molecule with psychotherapy, rapid stabilization of the depressed person might be achieved. Additional research will be conducted in the course of 2023 to confirm this hope.
