ketamine + nicotine

The combination of ketamine and nicotine refers to a Phase 1 research study conducted at Yale University to investigate the interactive effects of these compounds in the context of schizophrenia research. Ketamine, an N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, was used as a research tool to induce transient schizophrenia-like symptoms and neurophysiological deficits (such as impaired information processing) in healthy volunteers, modeling the NMDA receptor hypofunction hypothesis of schizophrenia. Nicotine, a nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) agonist, was administered intravenously to test whether nicotinic receptor activation could attenuate the behavioral and cognitive deficits induced by ketamine. The study concluded that nicotine failed to significantly modulate the schizophrenia-like effects of ketamine, suggesting that nicotinic agonists may not directly counteract NMDA receptor-mediated deficits in this specific model. This combination was used strictly for research purposes and is not being developed as a therapeutic product.

Other names

Nicotine modulation of ketamine-induced deficits