Buddhist-like opposite diminishing and non-judging during ketamine infusion are associated with antidepressant response: an open-label personalized-dosing study
Background: Cognition that is not dominated by thinking in terms of opposites (opposite diminishing) or by making judgments (non-judging) can be found both in Buddhist/mindfulness contexts and in mental states that are fostered by dissociative psychedelics (N-methyl-D-aspartate antagonists) such as...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-07-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Pharmacology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.2022.916641/full |
| _version_ | 1828328422464552960 |
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| author | Kurt Stocker Kurt Stocker Kurt Stocker Kurt Stocker Matthias Hartmann Steffen Reissmann Andreas Kist Matthias E. Liechti |
| author_facet | Kurt Stocker Kurt Stocker Kurt Stocker Kurt Stocker Matthias Hartmann Steffen Reissmann Andreas Kist Matthias E. Liechti |
| author_sort | Kurt Stocker |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Cognition that is not dominated by thinking in terms of opposites (opposite diminishing) or by making judgments (non-judging) can be found both in Buddhist/mindfulness contexts and in mental states that are fostered by dissociative psychedelics (N-methyl-D-aspartate antagonists) such as ketamine. Especially for the Buddhist/mindfulness case, both opposite diminishing and non-judging have been proposed to relate to mental well-being. Whether ketamine-occasioned opposite diminishing and/or non-judging relate to increased mental well-being in the form of antidepressant response is unknown, and was investigated in the present study.Methods: In this open-label outpatient study, the dose level and frequency for the ketamine infusions were adjusted individually in close consultation with the patients suffering from depression with the overall goal to maximize antidepressant benefits—a novel dose regimen that we term personalized antidepressant dosing. In general, treatment started with an initial series of ketamine infusions with a dosage of 0.5 mg/kg body weight and was then adjusted (usually increased). A possible relationship between ketamine-induced antidepressant benefits and retrospectively reported peri-infusion experiences of opposite diminishing and non-judging was assessed based on a total of 45 ketamine-infusion treatment sessions from 11 different patients suffering from depression. Opposite diminishing and non-judging were measured with the two items from the Altered States of Consciousness Inventory (ASCI) that measure these concepts. Depression was measured with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II).Results: Peri-infusion experiences of both opposite diminishing and non-judging were associated with antidepressant responses confirming our hypothesis. Furthermore, opposite diminishing and non-judging were closely related to one another while relating to antidepressant response in distinguishable ways.Conclusion: Future controlled randomized trials with dissociative and other psychedelics and with a larger number of participants are needed to establish the possible link of psychedelically induced opposite diminishing and non-judging with an antidepressant response more firmly. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T20:08:36Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-11b2d97c405549f4a34cb1af96bf08f5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1663-9812 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T20:08:36Z |
| publishDate | 2022-07-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Pharmacology |
| spelling | doaj.art-11b2d97c405549f4a34cb1af96bf08f52022-12-22T02:31:54ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Pharmacology1663-98122022-07-011310.3389/fphar.2022.916641916641Buddhist-like opposite diminishing and non-judging during ketamine infusion are associated with antidepressant response: an open-label personalized-dosing studyKurt Stocker0Kurt Stocker1Kurt Stocker2Kurt Stocker3Matthias Hartmann4Steffen Reissmann5Andreas Kist6Matthias E. Liechti7Psychopharmacology Research, Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Department of Clinical Research, University Hospital Basel and University of Basel, Basel, SwitzerlandChair of Cognitive Science, Department of Humanities, Social and Political Sciences, ETH Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Zurich, SwitzerlandDepartment of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, SwitzerlandFaculty of Psychology, UniDistance Suisse, Brig, SwitzerlandFaculty of Psychology, UniDistance Suisse, Brig, SwitzerlandDepartment of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, SwitzerlandMedical Office for Anesthesiology Zelenka and Colleagues, Villingen-Schwenningen, GermanyPsychopharmacology Research, Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Department of Clinical Research, University Hospital Basel and University of Basel, Basel, SwitzerlandBackground: Cognition that is not dominated by thinking in terms of opposites (opposite diminishing) or by making judgments (non-judging) can be found both in Buddhist/mindfulness contexts and in mental states that are fostered by dissociative psychedelics (N-methyl-D-aspartate antagonists) such as ketamine. Especially for the Buddhist/mindfulness case, both opposite diminishing and non-judging have been proposed to relate to mental well-being. Whether ketamine-occasioned opposite diminishing and/or non-judging relate to increased mental well-being in the form of antidepressant response is unknown, and was investigated in the present study.Methods: In this open-label outpatient study, the dose level and frequency for the ketamine infusions were adjusted individually in close consultation with the patients suffering from depression with the overall goal to maximize antidepressant benefits—a novel dose regimen that we term personalized antidepressant dosing. In general, treatment started with an initial series of ketamine infusions with a dosage of 0.5 mg/kg body weight and was then adjusted (usually increased). A possible relationship between ketamine-induced antidepressant benefits and retrospectively reported peri-infusion experiences of opposite diminishing and non-judging was assessed based on a total of 45 ketamine-infusion treatment sessions from 11 different patients suffering from depression. Opposite diminishing and non-judging were measured with the two items from the Altered States of Consciousness Inventory (ASCI) that measure these concepts. Depression was measured with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II).Results: Peri-infusion experiences of both opposite diminishing and non-judging were associated with antidepressant responses confirming our hypothesis. Furthermore, opposite diminishing and non-judging were closely related to one another while relating to antidepressant response in distinguishable ways.Conclusion: Future controlled randomized trials with dissociative and other psychedelics and with a larger number of participants are needed to establish the possible link of psychedelically induced opposite diminishing and non-judging with an antidepressant response more firmly.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.2022.916641/fullketamineopposite-diminishingnon-judgingdepressionBuddhism |
| spellingShingle | Kurt Stocker Kurt Stocker Kurt Stocker Kurt Stocker Matthias Hartmann Steffen Reissmann Andreas Kist Matthias E. Liechti Buddhist-like opposite diminishing and non-judging during ketamine infusion are associated with antidepressant response: an open-label personalized-dosing study Frontiers in Pharmacology ketamine opposite-diminishing non-judging depression Buddhism |
| title | Buddhist-like opposite diminishing and non-judging during ketamine infusion are associated with antidepressant response: an open-label personalized-dosing study |
| title_full | Buddhist-like opposite diminishing and non-judging during ketamine infusion are associated with antidepressant response: an open-label personalized-dosing study |
| title_fullStr | Buddhist-like opposite diminishing and non-judging during ketamine infusion are associated with antidepressant response: an open-label personalized-dosing study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Buddhist-like opposite diminishing and non-judging during ketamine infusion are associated with antidepressant response: an open-label personalized-dosing study |
| title_short | Buddhist-like opposite diminishing and non-judging during ketamine infusion are associated with antidepressant response: an open-label personalized-dosing study |
| title_sort | buddhist like opposite diminishing and non judging during ketamine infusion are associated with antidepressant response an open label personalized dosing study |
| topic | ketamine opposite-diminishing non-judging depression Buddhism |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.2022.916641/full |
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