Ketamine: Benefits and Risks for Depression, PTSD & Neuroplasticity

**Andrew Huberman** (0:00)
Welcome to the Huberman Lab podcast, where we discuss science and science-based tools for everyday life.
I'm Andrew Huberman, and I'm a professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine. Today, we are discussing ketamine. Ketamine is a fascinating compound, and it's one that nowadays is being used both clinically for the treatment of depression and suicidality and PTSD, and it is also a drug that is commonly abused. That is, ketamine is often used recreationally, and it has a high potential for abuse. So today we are going to discuss both the research on the clinical benefits of ketamine, as well as the risks of ketamine. We are going to discuss the mechanisms of action by which ketamine produces what are called dissociative states. I will define for you what a so-called K-hole is in scientific terms. I will talk about dosages of ketamine. I will talk about delivery routes of ketamine. And throughout, I will be emphasizing both the clinical benefits and the risks, that is the potential harms of using ketamine out of the appropriate clinical context. So by the end of today's episode, you will understand thoroughly what ketamine is, how it works in the brain and body to produce dissociative states and to relieve depression. And you will understand how it can actually change neural circuitry. This is an important thing to understand about ketamine. The acute or immediate effects of ketamine, while one is under the influence of ketamine, are just part of the story of how ketamine modifies the brain for the treatment of depression, suicidality and PTSD. And by extension, when people use ketamine recreationally, there are those immediate acute effects of ketamine, but there are also long-term changes in the brain that are important to understand. During today's discussion, we will also be talking a lot about neuroplasticity or your nervous system's ability to change in response to experience. And we will be talking about neuroplasticity, not just in the context of ketamine, but as a general theme for how your nervous system changes anytime you learn anything. And in that discussion, you're going to hear a lot about BDNF or brain-derived neutrophic factor. Brain-derived neutrophic factor is a critical molecule for all forms of learning and memory and changes to your nervous system. So in addition to learning about ketamine and how it works clinically and its relevance to recreational use and abuse, you will also learn a lot about neuroplasticity and BDNF and what it's doing in your brain right now as you learn. Before we begin, I'd like to emphasize that this podcast is separate from my teaching and research roles at Stanford. It is, however, part of my desire and effort to bring zero cost to consumer information about science and science-related tools to the general public. In keeping with that theme, I'd like to thank the sponsors of today's podcast. Our first sponsor is ROKA. ROKA makes eyeglasses and sunglasses that are of the absolute highest quality. The company was founded by two all-American swimmers from Stanford, and everything about ROKA eyeglasses and sunglasses were designed with performance in mind. I've spent a lifetime working on the biology, the visual system, and I can tell you that your visual system has to contend with an enormous number of different challenges in order for you to be able to see clearly when, for instance, you go from a shady area to a sunny area, when you look at something up close or off in the distance.
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