Science Archives - Psychiatrist and Psychologist in San Diego | Ketamine Treatment in San Diego

The Glymphatic System and Brain Health

All Posts, Diagnoses & Conditions, Science

What Is the Glymphatic System? The glymphatic system is a proposed brain-wide fluid transport and waste-clearance network that connects cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), interstitial fluid, astrocytes, and perivascular spaces to the lymphatic drainage…

Brain, Behavior, and Drugs*

All Posts, Medications, Science

I. The complex and adaptive brain 1. Brain architecture: gross anatomy, neurons 2. How the brain communicates 3. Adaptation and learning II. How drugs hijack the brain 1. Pleasure and the…

Ketamine for Chronic Pain? Evidence Still Missing

All Posts, Ketamine, Science

In a landscape where ketamine clinics are rapidly proliferating, evidence-based clinical decision-making matters even more. A new recently published large review study by Ferraro et al. in the Cochrane database casts serious doubt on…

tDCS for Depression and Psychiatric Disorders: What Patients Should Know

All Posts, Diagnoses & Conditions, Science

Learn how transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) works, its role in treating depression and other psychiatric disorders, and how it compares to rTMS as a noninvasive neuromodulation option. What Is tDCS? A Brief Overview Transcranial…

The “Benzodiazepine Wars”: Risks, Benefits, and the Future of Anxiety Treatment

All Posts, Medications, Practice, Science

The benzodiazepine debate continues in psychiatry. Learn about the risks, benefits, and clinical guidance on benzodiazepine use for anxiety in this blog entry. New Type of Media Coverage: Moving Beyond Fear and Stigma The debate…

Prescription-Strength Nutritional Products for Mood and Brain Health

All Posts, Diagnoses & Conditions, Herbs and Vitamins, Science

Prescription-strength nutritional supplements are increasingly discussed in psychiatric practice. Some patients ask about prescription products based on vitamins or nutraceuticals. Two that sometimes come up in psychiatry are Deplin…

Lithium and Alzheimer’s Disease: New Research Links Low Brain Lithium to Memory Loss

All Posts, Diagnoses & Conditions, Medications, Science

New research has identified a surprising connection between lithium and Alzheimer’s disease, with potentially far-reaching implications for both early detection and disease-modifying therapy. Lithium of a Different Color: A Surprising…

Ketamine and Postpartum Depression: A Promising New Treatment Option

All Posts, Diagnoses & Conditions, Ketamine, Science

A new study published in The British Medical Journal looked into whether giving a single low dose of ketamine (in the form of esketamine) right after childbirth could help reduce postpartum depression in mothers who were depressed during pregnancy. How…

Does Naltrexone Block Ketamine’s Antidepressant Effect? The Opioid Receptor Problem in Ketamine Therapy

All Posts, Ketamine, Medications, Science

Are Ketamine’s Opiate Receptor Effects Necessary for Its Antidepressant Effect? The question of whether ketamine’s antidepressant action depends on opioid receptor activity has significant implications for clinical practice — particularly…

How the Aging Brain Processes Touch Differently: New Research on the Somatosensory Cortex

All Posts, Science

Different parts - different smarts! The Aging Brain Does Not Deteriorate Uniformly New neuroimaging research reveals a suprising finding: parts of our brains age differently. The aging brain does not simply decline as a unitary organ — it…