The aim of the project is to map how serial ketamine infusions for treatment-resistant depression affect the functioning of the body's and brain's emotional networks. Depression is a major public health problem. 10% of the population suffers from depression, and 30% of them do not respond to conventional antidepressants. Ketamine is a dissociative anaesthetic that effectively relieves treatment-resistant depression. However, its biological and psychological mechanisms of action are poorly understood. Negative emotions and bodily functions are tightly linked, so systemic changes in the brain-body axis may underlie depression and antidepressant action of ketamine. The project will measure these systemic changes using a new ultrafast functional PET method, mapping the activity of the entire body simultaneously. This unique system-level study of the brain-body circuits will help unravel the physiological and psychological mechanisms of depression and have a major impact on public health.

2026

2030