This opinion article (2021) postulates that ketamine and psychedelics substances enact their rapid fast-acting antidepressant effects by means of promoting neuroplasticity in a heterogeneous manner, by enhancing or suppressing dendritic excitability across different parts of the cellular membrane. Although precise measurements of this pharmacological effect across the entire dendritic tree are currently still lacking, the authors hypothesize that the spatial mismatches in the opposing effects of these drugs drive neuroplasticity at specific dendritic hotspots, depending on the microcircuitry of their respective target neurons.
- Published
- Journal
- Trends in Neuroscience
- Authors
- Savalia, N., Shao, L-X,, Kwan, A. C.