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New antidepressants are needed for the many patients with treatment-resistant depression. Therefore, positive results in preliminary studies of ketamine, a non–monoamine-neurotransmitter agent, have engendered interest in its mechanism of action (e.g., JW Psychiatry Oct 8 2010). In this study of mice, researchers intraperitoneally infused ketamine, one of two other antagonists of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR), or vehicle (control).
On the forced swim test (a test for antidepressant efficacy in which animals' search for a safe platform is timed), ketamine was associated with improved behaviors compared with vehicle at all time points (30 minutes, 3 hours, 24 hours, and 1 week postadministration). The other NMDAR inhibitors showed …