The dual role of ketamine: a computational perspective on pharmacological interventions in psychiatry

In psychiatry, the NMDA receptor antagonist ketamine takes on two very different roles: a pharmacological model of psychosis, due to its psychotomimetic effects, and a potent, fast-acting antidepressant. We want to understand whether ketamine produces its effects in these different domains - perceptual (psychosis) and affective (depression) - via a common neurocognitive mechanism. This question is crucial for drug development, and for our understanding of disease mechanisms in psychosis and depression. In an ongoing study with collaborators at the University of Oxford, we use novel continuous decision tasks, EEG, and cognitive modelling to study the neurocognitive mechanisms by which ketamine affects perception and affective processing.