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8 papers
Research on treating depression is moving fast. Right now the clearest clinical evidence is for ketamine and its FDA‑approved form esketamine, which can lift symptoms quickly but often only for days or weeks. Classic psychedelics like psilocybin, and related compounds such as DMT and 5‑MeO‑DMT, show strong early promise when given with psychotherapy. However, most psychedelic studies are still small or early‑stage and need larger, well‑controlled trials. Other approaches are being tested too. MDMA‑assisted therapy has strong, growing evidence for post‑traumatic stress disorder and can also reduce some depressive symptoms, but some pooled reports have been retracted and long‑term safety and broad applicability need more study. Brain‑stimulation methods (deep brain stimulation, vagus nerve stimulation, transcranial magnetic stimulation) and combined treatments (for example ketamine plus TMS) show mixed or preliminary results. Across all these lines of research, the therapy, setting, and careful medical oversight matter. Studies also often lack diversity and long‑term follow‑up, so we cannot assume the results apply to everyone yet.
Researchers tested deep brain stimulation (DBS) in a small group of people whose depression did not get better with usual treatments. They used an implanted device that both delivered stimulation to the subcallosal cingulate (a brain area linked to mood) and recorded brain electrical signals. Around 9 out of 10…
This paper is a clear review of how ketamine can lift severe depression quickly for some people and what we know about how it works in the brain. The authors say a single low-dose intravenous shot of ketamine can produce rapid and lasting antidepressant effects in people whose depression did…
This paper reviews the recent comeback of psychedelic research and points out that much of that work borrows from indigenous healing traditions. The authors say Indigenous people, ethnic and racial minorities, women, and other marginalized groups are often left out of research and the mainstream story about psychedelic medicine. The…
Major depressive disorder is a serious illness. Researchers reviewed how ketamine — a drug that blocks a brain receptor called the NMDA receptor — can lift depression symptoms quickly and for a sustained time in people and in animals. They describe possible ways ketamine works: it may boost another type…
Serotonin is a brain chemical that helps control many behaviors. This paper reviews research showing that the fats in the outer layer of nerve cells — the cell membrane — can change how the proteins that make, store, release, and detect serotonin work. Those fat–protein interactions are not fixed. They…
This review explains that classical serotonergic psychedelics — drugs like psilocybin, DMT (in ayahuasca), LSD, and ibogaine — can change brain cells and connections in lab and animal studies. These drugs have been shown to help neurons grow new branches and form more synapses, which are the contact points where…
Researchers looked back at recordings and interviews from 26 people who got ketamine infusions for treatment-resistant depression. They found that things people were exposed to in the days before treatment — especially digital media like videos — sometimes showed up inside their ketamine experiences and changed how emotional or “mystical”…
Researchers pooled results from 29 human studies that measured blood levels of a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF, after people received so-called psychoplastogen drugs such as ketamine or psychedelics. They found no clear change in blood BDNF after these drugs. The authors say this does not prove the…
