This unregistered trial (n=8) was a double-blind, 3-way crossover pilot of ketamine infusions for cocaine dependence in cocaine-dependent adults, finding that acute mystical-type effects mediated improvements in the motivation to quit cocaine.
This synthetic trial has been added to our database because a psychedelic paper (about a clinical trial) references this trial, but no (live) registration can be found.
The study employed a double-blind, 3-way crossover inpatient design to investigate whether the psychoactive effects of sub-anesthetic ketamine infusions influence therapeutic outcomes in cocaine dependence. Eight participants received either a low-dose ketamine infusion (0.41 mg/kg), a high-dose ketamine infusion (0.71 mg/kg), or an active control of lorazepam (2 mg), with infusions separated by 48 hours.
Researchers assessed dissociation, mystical-type effects, and cue-induced cocaine craving. The results demonstrated that ketamine induced significantly higher mystical-type effects compared to lorazepam, and that these mystical experiences mediated the observed increase in motivation to quit cocaine 24 hours after infusion.
Sub-anesthetic ketamine infusion (0.11 mg/kg bolus followed by 0.3 mg/kg slow-drip over 50 min)
52-min infusion (2-min bolus followed by 50 min infusion)
Sub-anesthetic ketamine infusion (0.11 mg/kg bolus followed by 0.6 mg/kg slow-drip over 50 min)
52-min infusion (2-min bolus followed by 50 min infusion)
Lorazepam infusion (saline bolus over 2 min followed by 2 mg slow-drip over 50 min)
52-min infusion (2-min bolus followed by 50 min infusion)