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Wellbeing is important for everyone, especially when we are isolated or alone. Depression is a serious problem for many people, and finding an effective treatment is important.
A study published in Molecular Psychiatry found that low doses of ketamine, a general anesthetic, can restore social deficits by restoring function in the anterior insular cortex.
Ketamine is often used in low doses to treat depression, but its actions in the brain remain relatively unclear. Generally, ketamine refers to a mixture of two different forms of ketamine: (S)-ketamine and (R)-ketamine.
These two molecules are mirror isomers or enantiomers – they have the same molecular formula, but their three-dimensional forms are mirror images of each other.
Although they usually occur as (S) and (R) pairs, they can also be separated into either (S)-ketamine or (R)-ketamine. Each is beneficial in treating depression, although their specific effects vary.
Also Read: 5 Symptoms of High Functioning Depression; How is it different from clinical depression?
When the research team decided to test the effects of (S)-ketamine and (R)-ketamine on depression-like symptoms in mice, they first had to decide on an appropriate model. Given that depression and social impairments can be induced by long-term social isolation, they chose a long-term (at least 6 weeks) social isolation mouse model.
The researchers then used a method that allowed them to compare neuronal activation throughout the brain of mice treated with (S)-ketamine, (R)-ketamine, or saline (as a control) directly after behavioral tests. permitted to.
“In this way, we were able to observe differences between (S)-ketamine and (R)-ketamine treatment in terms of neuronal activation throughout the brain, without preconceived notions,” said Rei Yokoyama, lead author of the study.
“Specifically, we found that chronic social isolation caused reduced neuronal activation in the anterior insular cortex – a brain region that is important for emotional regulation – during social interaction, and that (R)-ketamine, but not (S ) No – ketamine reversed this effect.”
The researchers also found that rats treated with (R)-ketamine were better at recognizing unfamiliar versus familiar rats in a social memory test, indicating improved social cognition. Furthermore, when neuronal activity in the anterior insular cortex was suppressed, (R)-ketamine-induced improvements disappeared.
“These findings highlight the importance of the anterior insular cortex for the positive effects of (R)-ketamine on social impairments, at least in rats,” said Hitoshi Hashimoto, senior author of the study.
“Together, our results indicate that (R)-ketamine may be superior to (S)-ketamine for improving social cognition, and they suggest that this effect depends on restoring neuronal activation in the anterior insular cortex. Is.”
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