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Effects of ketamine on brain function during response inhibition
M Steffens1, C Neumann2, A-M Kasparbauer1
1Department of Psychology, University of Bonn, Kaiser-Karl-Ring 9, 53111, Bonn, Germany.
Psychopharmacology
|October 26, 2018
Summary
Ketamine did not impair antisaccade task performance in healthy males, despite inducing psychosis-like experiences. This suggests ketamine may not fully model psychosis symptoms at this dose, highlighting the need for further N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor research.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Ketamine, an N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, is used to model psychosis.
- Schizophrenia spectrum disorders show inhibitory deficits on the antisaccade task.
- Previous studies reported ketamine-induced antisaccade deficits in primates but not in healthy humans.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate ketamine's effects on brain function and behavior during an antisaccade task.
- To determine if ketamine administration models psychosis-related inhibitory deficits in healthy individuals.
Main Methods:
- A double-blind, placebo-controlled, within-subjects study with 15 healthy males.
- Measured blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) response and eye movements during a mixed antisaccade/prosaccade task.
- Administered subanesthetic intravenous ketamine (100 ng/ml) or placebo.
Main Results:
- Ketamine increased self-rated psychosis-like experiences but did not impair antisaccade or prosaccade performance.
- Observed an interaction in somatosensory cortex BOLD response between ketamine and task condition.
- This suggests additional neural resources were recruited during the antisaccade task under NMDA receptor blockage.
Conclusions:
- Ketamine, at the dose tested, may not fully replicate psychosis-related antisaccade deficits observed in schizophrenia spectrum populations.
- Further research is needed to understand NMDA receptor hypofunction's effects on human brain function and behavior.
- Future studies should explore varying ketamine doses to refine its use as a psychosis model.
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