Ketamine Rapidly Improves Cognitive Function Making Those in Suicidal Crisis Less Likely to Harm Themselves; Five-Year Study by Columbia Researchers Finds That Single Dose Can Improve Thinking & Reasoning, Independent of Any Lift in Depressive Symptoms

Ketamine, a drug used to treat mood disorders and severe depression, improved the thinking and reasoning of those who expressed thoughts of killing themselves within 24 hours, according to a Columbia University Medical Center study. Published on November 2, 2021 in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, the study found that one dose of ketamine not only reduced the severity of depression in people with suicide ideation, many of whom had not responded to other antidepressants, but also made them feel safer and less likely to harm themselves because it rapidly diminished their suicidal ideation. The article is titled “Effects of Ketamine Versus Midazolam on Neurocognition at 24 Hours in Depressed Patients With Suicidal Ideation.”