Scientists have discovered by working on sheep that ketamine can “unplug” the brain for a few minutes. The researchers see this as an interesting lead for future anesthetic treatments.
- Researchers studied the brain activity of sheep to understand the effect of ketamine on the brain
- After receiving a high dose of ketamine, the sheep saw their brain activity stop before resuming, without damage
- This study could help imagine future treatments for neurological diseases
It was by working on sheep suffering from Huntington’s disease, a neurodegenerative pathology, that scientists from the University of Cambridge came to the conclusion that ketamine has the power to completely shut down the brain for a few minutes.
Apart from its well-known and unregulated use as a recreational drug, ketamine is administered as an anesthetic or pain reliever. In particular, it has demonstrated its effectiveness as a treatment for depression or post-traumatic stress.
But so far, the effects of ketamine on brain activity have only very rarely been studied. Thanks to electroencephalograms applied to twelve sheep, the researchers were able to distinguish three different phases of cerebral activity in these animals, depending on the ketamine dosage administered, with a more or less awake state of consciousness.
Brain “unplugged” for several minutes
The team of scientists, whose work is described in the journal Nature, Explain : “We chose to use sheep for this study, because ketamine is commonly used as an anesthetic in these animals, and its clinical (anesthetic and analgesic) effects and pharmacokinetics are well known”.
“Our goal was not really to observe the effects of ketamine, but to use it as a tool to explore brain activity in sheep with and without the Huntington’s disease gene. But our amazing findings could explain how ketamine works”say the scientists.
At the highest intravenous dose of ketamine (24 mg/kg) administered, approximately half experienced a complete shutdown of cortical EEG activity for several minutes. In other words, the brains of these animals were like “unplugged”. After which, cortical activity resumed, with no observed damage to the brain. “This phenomenon is likely to explain the ‘k-hole’, a state of forgetfulness assimilated to a near-death experience, much sought after by ketamine users.speculate the researchers.
Beyond its spectacular aspect, this discovery could prove valuable in the treatment of neurological diseases, underline the authors of the study: “Understanding how different regions of the brain engage and disengage is essential to decipher the functioning of neural networks. EEG changes induced by ketamine provide an interesting tool to study these networks, not only in the normal brain, but also in neurological diseases where cognitive and psychiatric impairments are important..”
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