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Researchers have long been intrigued by ketamine’s ability to alter consciousness and its potential therapeutic uses, particularly in treating mood disorders. A recent study published in Translational Psychiatry adds a new layer to this understanding by investigating how ketamine impacts brain function, specifically focusing on high-order interactions in brain activity.
Using portable electroencephalography (EEG), the researchers found that ketamine induces changes in brain dynamics, notably increasing redundancy—repetitive patterns of information—in the alpha frequency band, which is linked to shifts in conscious awareness and dissociative experiences.
The researchers were interested in understanding how ketamine alters brain function and the broader implications for its potential therapeutic uses. Ketamine, initially developed as an anesthetic, has gained attention in recent years for its rapid antidepressant effects, even for individuals with treatment-resistant depression. However, its use also induces dissociative experiences, where people feel detached from reality or themselves. These experiences are thought to be linked to changes in brain dynamics.
Past studies have used neuroimaging techniques like fMRI and EEG to capture these brain changes under ketamine. However, these methods often focus on single points of interaction between different regions of the brain. This study, in contrast, used a novel method that captures high-order interactions—how multiple regions of the brain work together as a system, which may provide a more comprehensive understanding of how ketamine affects brain function.
Additionally, the researchers wanted to test whether portable EEG devices could offer a reliable way to measure these changes. Portable EEG systems are less cumbersome than traditional setups, making them more feasible for real-world applications, including in clinical settings or at home.
“There are three main topics included in this work: alteration of consciousness, complexity and high-order interactions, and portable EEG,” explained study author Rubén Herzog of the Paris Brain Institute. “Each of them are very interesting to me for different reasons. Alteration of consciousness provides a controlled way to perturb and study human consciousness in a scientific way. Also, many mind-altering drugs have started to demonstrate a big potential for mental health disorders, but before using them […]
Neuroscientists just discovered a weird effect of ketamine on the brain
