title: Antidepressant actions of ketamine: from molecular mechanisms to clinical practice.
abstract: In the past decade the emergence of glutamate N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor blockers such as ketamine as fast-acting antidepressants fostered a major conceptual advance by demonstrating the possibility of a rapid antidepressant response. This discovery brings unique mechanistic insight into antidepressant action, as there is a substantial amount of basic knowledge on glutamatergic neurotransmission and how blockade of NMDA receptors may elicit plasticity. The combination of this basic knowledge base and the growing clinical findings will facilitate the development of novel fast acting antidepressants.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75390-9111, USA. Electronic address: lisa.monteggia@utsouthwestern.edu.
authors.forename: Lisa M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Monteggia
authors.affiliation: Experimental Therapeutics and Pathophysiology Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, and Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zarate
mesh_terms: D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D003863:Depression / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D007649:Ketamine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate; D007649:Ketamine