Glutamatergic Mechanisms of Psychosis and Target Engagement (SA1)
This non-randomized, single-group assignment trial (n=50) aims to investigate the glutamatergic mechanisms of psychosis and target engagement using ketamine hydrochloride in healthy volunteers.
Details
Two identical ketamine‑induced pharmacoBOLD (phBOLD) sessions are performed in healthy volunteers at least 7 days apart to evaluate phBOLD as a glutamate target‑engagement biomarker.
Ketamine is assigned in successive cohorts of 10 subjects with a starting bolus of 0.08 mg/kg and stepwise adjustments of ±0.02 mg/kg to identify the lowest dose that produces a robust phBOLD response; the same dose is given on both sessions.
Primary aims are to optimise ketamine dosing for phBOLD sensitivity and to characterise glutamatergic mechanisms relevant to psychosis, enabling target engagement methods for future clinical development.