Lisa Monteggia

Neuroscientist and Barlow Family Director of the Vanderbilt Brain Institute, and professor of pharmacology at Vanderbilt University. Her research examines molecular and cellular mechanisms of psychiatric disorders, including synaptic plasticity and ketamine’s rapid antidepressant effects.

Rapid Ketamine Relief Points to Brain Plasticity in Depression

Neuroscientist Lisa Monteggia argues that depression cannot be adequately explained as a serotonin shortage: SSRIs raise serotonin quickly, yet often take weeks to relieve symptoms, while ketamine can produce relief within hours through a different brain system. She says ketamine’s effects point instead to synaptic plasticity—the brain’s capacity to adapt—as a possible driver of antidepressant response, though the drug remains temporary, clinically limited and no replacement for first-line SSRI treatment.

TEDAug 16, 20265 min read