Skip to main content

Website under construction — temporary launch and enquiry delays

We apologise for the continued delay in fully launching the website and for enquiries that have gone unanswered while site construction and functionality work continue. We expect the website to be fully operational within two weeks — by 1 November 2026, or sooner. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Board-Certified Psychiatrist (ABPN)U.S. + Israel LicensedTelepsychiatry since 2013Psychiatrist present during every IM sessionPrescription treatment · Ages 18+ · Medical evaluation required

Desktop Recommended for Best Experience

For the best experience completing forms, assessments, and navigating patient resources, we recommend using a desktop or laptop computer.

This site is informational. Treatment requires full medical evaluation. Not for emergencies — if in crisis, contact local emergency services or a crisis line.
Visual Neuroscience Library · Episode 1

DMN Changes During Ketamine

Understanding the Default Mode Network

2 min

The Default Mode Network, or DMN, is a group of interacting brain regions involved in self-reflection, autobiographical memory, imagining the future, and our ongoing internal narrative. Research suggests that ketamine can temporarily alter communication within parts of this network. These changes may contribute to greater cognitive flexibility, but the relationship between brain-network changes and clinical improvement remains an active area of research.

What is reasonably well supported

• Ketamine can produce rapid symptom improvement for some people with treatment-resistant depression. • Neuroimaging studies show acute changes in large-scale functional brain networks, including components of the DMN. • Preclinical and human research supports effects on synaptic plasticity.

What remains uncertain

• Which network changes are necessary or sufficient for clinical improvement. • Why some patients respond and others do not. • How psychotherapy interacts with ketamine-related neural and psychological changes. • Whether any current imaging marker can reliably predict individual response.

Clinical framing

Some patients describe less rumination, greater mental spaciousness, or new perspectives during or after ketamine treatment. These experiences vary. Ketamine should be presented as potentially creating an opportunity for therapeutic change, not as "resetting," "rewiring," or "healing" the brain automatically.

References and further reading

Ketamine effects on default mode network activity and vigilance: A randomized, placebo-controlled crossover simultaneous fMRI/EEG study

Pending review

Zacharias N, Musso F, Müller F, Lammers F, Saleh A, London M, de Boer P, Winterer G

Human Brain Mapping· 2020Randomized Controlled Trial

Randomized placebo-controlled crossover human fMRI/EEG study showing region-specific DMN connectivity changes after subanesthetic ketamine and highlighting vigilance as an important confound. Added as supporting evidence; pending clinician review.

View sourcePMID: 31532029; DOI: 10.1002/hbm.24791

Default Mode Connectivity in Major Depressive Disorder Measured Up to 10 Days After Ketamine Administration

Pending review

Evans JW, Szczepanik J, Brutsché N, Park LT, Nugent AC, Zarate CA Jr

Biological Psychiatry· 2018Randomized Controlled Trial

Double-blind placebo-controlled crossover human fMRI study examining DMN connectivity 2 and 10 days after ketamine in MDD and healthy controls. Supports a network-interaction framing rather than a simple global 'DMN suppression' claim. Added as supporting evidence; pending clinician review.

View sourcePMID: 29580569; DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2018.01.027

Ketamine Decreases Resting State Functional Network Connectivity in Depression

Verified

Scheidegger M, Lehmann M, Beck M, et al.

Cerebral Cortex· 2012Cohort Study

Landmark fMRI study showing a single ketamine dose reduces resting-state functional connectivity (including the Default Mode Network) in depression. Found via PMC; pending clinician verification of full citation details.

View sourcePMCID: PMC3461985

This content is educational and does not constitute medical advice, a treatment recommendation, or a guarantee of outcome. All diagrams and explanations are conceptual and simplified for general understanding. They are not direct representations of individual patient data. Continuing to psychiatric treatment requires secure intake, clinician review, and a full psychiatric evaluation; the orientation conversation is informational only. Research on ketamine's effects on brain networks is active and evolving.

Want to learn if KAP is right for you?

Start with a free 15–20 minute KAP orientation conversation.

Book Free KAP Orientation →