Taking Ketamine and Looking at Smiling Faces is a Therapy That Could Help End Depression, Shows Clinical Trial

The scientists behind the plan have found depression can be kept at bay for at least a month if the digital techniques are used when ketamine has prepared the brain’s plasticity.

As a result, Dr Price and her team are reorienting their goals to improve access to intravenous ketamine treatment and boost its effect by pairing the drug with digital therapies.

The results of the double-blind, randomized clinical trial conducted locally in Pennsylvania were published last month in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

As a result, Dr Price and her team are reorienting their goals to improve access to intravenous ketamine treatment and boost its effect by pairing the drug with digital therapies.

Though symptom relief can be felt just two hours after a ketamine infusion, the drug’s effects often wear off after a couple of weeks meaning patients go back for more.

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“This automated intervention is so simple that it could be repurposed to address a variety of mental health conditions and easily tweaked to match the needs of an individual patient,” said Price, who was among the first to show that intravenous ketamine can reduce suicidal thoughts

Being given an illicit drug called ketamine and then looking at smiling faces could help end depression, according to a new study.

“This automated intervention is so simple that it could be repurposed to address a variety of mental health conditions and easily tweaked to match the needs of an individual patient,” said Price, who was among the first to show that intravenous ketamine can reduce suicidal thoughts

A third group received a saline infusion followed by the active training.

“Training the brain to link perceptions of yourself with positive ideas during this ketamine-primed plasticity window exceeded my expectations. “I was surprised and amazed to get such clear findings from an intervention that was so minimal.”

For people with such treatment-resistant depression, psychoactive drugs, such as ketamine, offer an alternative chance at long-term remission.

“We are interested in creating an automated intervention that any computer or device can run, making it as accessible as possible. CHECK OUT: Phase 3 Trial of MDMA Therapy for Severe PTSD is So Successful That 67% Don’t Qualify For Diagnosis Now “Our goal is to leverage digital technologies and develop a strategy that will efficiently extend time between appointments, save patients money and get more patients effective depression care.”

Based on the findings, Pittsburgh’s Innovation Institute filed a provisional patent for the treatment method, to benefit those who have exhausted all other options.

The scientists behind the plan have found depression can be kept at bay for at least a month if the digital techniques are used when ketamine has prepared the brain’s plasticity.