A short burst of reward curbs the addictiveness of ketamine

Campbell, Rianne; Lobo, Mary Kay

doi:10.1038/d41586-022-01948-w

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27 July 2022

A short burst of reward curbs the addictiveness of ketamine

An analysis of ketamine and cocaine use in mice reveals that the drugs trigger release of the neurotransmitter dopamine through different mechanisms, and indicates that the risk of addiction to ketamine is low.

Rianne Campbell⁰ &
Mary Kay Lobo¹

Rianne Campbell
1. Rianne Campbell is in the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, USA.
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Mary Kay Lobo
1. Mary Kay Lobo is in the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, USA.
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Ketamine is increasingly being used as a fast-acting antidepressant in research and in certain clinical settings¹. But there are concerns around its therapeutic use, because it is classified as having low to moderate potential for physical or psychological dependence². Substances are considered addictive if they lead to compulsive use despite negative consequences. Writing in Nature, Simmler et al.³ investigate whether ketamine causes the behavioural and neuronal changes typically seen with highly addictive substances. They report that ketamine fails to establish key addiction-like behaviours in mice, and does not produce changes in the brain’s reward system that are linked to drug craving.

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Nature 608, 271-272 (2022)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-01948-w

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