Ketamine: Anaesthetic, Psychedelic or Antidepressant

In this month’s episode of the Psychedelics in Medicine Podcast (PiMPOD), Dr Torsten Passie and Ben Clayden discuss Ketamine, a unique anaesthetic which can produce dissociative and even hallucinogenic states. We’ll take a look at Ketamine’s history, variations in its use across cultures, its pharmacology and differences between its two enantiomers, before finally discussing its potentially as a rapidly acting antidepressant.

Dr Passie is a German psychiatrist, professor at Hannover Medical School and is an expert in altered states of consciousness. Torsten has performed clinical and experimental studies numerous psychoactive and psychedelic compounds ranging from nitrous oxide, to MDMA to ketamine.

Ben Clayden is the creator and owner of this Podcast. He is a student at the University of York studying Natural Sciences specialising in Neuroscience. He is co-chair for the Drug Science Student Society Network as well as the president of his University’s Psychedelics in Medicine Society.

Psychedelics, Ketamine, Hallucinogens, Anaesthetic, Addition, Drugs Biology, Chemistry, Pharmacology, Neuroscience Mental Health, Depression, Anxiety, PTSD, Wellbeing

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References

Passie, T., Adams, H. A., Logemann, F., Brandt, S. D., Wiese, B., & Karst, M. (2021). Comparative effects of (S)-ketamine and racemic (R/S)-ketamine on psychopathology, state of consciousness and neurocognitive performance in healthy volunteers. European neuropsychopharmacology : the journal of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology, 44, 92–104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.euroneuro.2021.01.005