The present study investigates the effects of the NMDA receptor antagonist S-(+)-ketamine on perception and processing of painful heat stimuli. Healthy volunteers rated pain intensity and unpleasantness on a VAS rating scale during placebo administration and 3 different ketamine doses. Changes in pain-induced cerebral activations were investigated using fMRI. Pain unpleasantness declined as ketamine dosage was increased. Pain intensity also decreased with increasing ketamine dosage, but to a lesser extent. Analysis of dose-dependent ketamine effects on pain processing showed a decreasing activation of the secondary somatosensory cortex (S2) and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). These findings underline the potency of ketamine in modulating affective pain processing.
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The present study investigates the effects of the NMDA receptor antagonist S-(+)-ketamine on perception and processing of painful heat stimuli. Healthy volunteers rated pain intensity and unpleasantness on a VAS rating scale during placebo administration and 3 different ketamine doses. Changes in pain-induced cerebral activations were investigated using fMRI. Pain unpleasantness declined as ketamine dosage was increased. Pain intensity also decreased with increasing ketamine dosage, but to a les...
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