The drug ketamine, which we administer intravenously, is a revolutionary medication for treating major depression, anxiety, suicidality, and related symptoms. The medication has been around for many years, having been approved by the FDA for use as an anesthetic on the battlefield and elsewhere. More recently, though, studies have found ketamine can help patients—especially those with treatment-resistant depression—find rapid relief from depressive and other mental health symptoms. Whereas typically patients only begin to feel better weeks or even months after taking one or more medications, some patients will report feeling better after just one intravenous session.
Research is still underway to fully understand how ketamine achieves these antidepressant effects. (Nearly all of the existing research has examined ketamine infusions, not the nasal spray form.) What seems to be clear is that the drug activates certain receptors in the brain that in turn release neurons which communicate with one another, affecting mood, cognition, and thought patterns.