| Ketamine is a medication approved by the Food and Drug Administration to be used as an anesthetic. When given to healthy human subjects in sub-anesthetic doses, it has been shown to produce behavioral effects similar to those seen in schizophrenic patients. The effects produced by ketamine are very intense and include sedation, decreased pain, increased anxiety, dissociation, and confusion. Recent studies at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven Campus used ketamine to induce effects in healthy subjects that mimic symptoms of schizophrenia and schizophrenic cognitive dysfunction. Many participants in these studies participated in more than one protocol. There is currently no literature examining the effects of multiple exposure to ketamine. Some significant results show that previous exposure to ketamine in the laboratory setting inhibits the intense ketamine reaction suggesting that previous exposure be added as an exclusion criterion for future studies. |
