Studies investigate esketamine, a medication administered by infusion. This is the molecular structure of ketamine. © Zerbor/stock.adobe.com

Studies investigate esketamine, a medication administered by infusion. This is the molecular structure of ketamine.

Do positive expectations improve the effect of antidepressants?

Project A08
Team

About a third of people with depression do not respond to treatment with antidepressants. Previous patient experiences and expectations play an important role in the treatment outcome. This project will use imaging, among other techniques, to investigate which specific neural mechanisms are responsible for this and how certain areas of the brain work together to influence the efficacy of antidepressants (esketamine).

We successfully completed the work on this Project during our first funding period. Several other projects have taken up the results and are now continuing the research with their respective focus areas.

The effects of esketamine and treatment expectation on an acute depressive episode: a pharmacological fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) study

This project combines pharmacological fMRI with a fully balanced placebo design to investigate the psychological and neural mechanisms underlying the antidepressant effects of positive treatment expectations in patients experiencing an acute depressive episode. It will also explore how these effects interact with the antidepressant effect of the NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptor antagonist esketamine. Prefrontal and limbic networks and the reward system are of particular interest here.