How Ketamine Infusion Therapy Benefits Cognitive Function

We conceptualize the brain primarily as the place where thoughts come from. But your brain and cognition, or thinking, play more of a role in your physical and mental health than you might realize. In addition to thoughts, your brain registers sensations like pain and even regulates your mood.

That means, for patients with chronic pain or hard-to-treat mental illness, it makes sense to see if it’s possible to rewire your brain. Treatments like ketamine infusion therapy affect your brain at a structural level, transforming your cognition to ease or even eliminate troublesome symptoms of conditions like major depressive disorder or chronic pain.

At Iconic Infusions, PLLC, ketamine infusion specialist Dr. Bryant S. Edwards offers treatment that can improve your brain and your life. Could your cognitive function improve after ketamine treatment with Dr. Edwards at his Fayetteville, North Carolina, clinic? 

Here’s what you need to know about the effects of ketamine therapy on your brain, thinking, and quality of life.

What ketamine therapy does for your brain

Ketamine, a dissociative drug, has historically been used as a surgical anesthetic. As we learn more about the effects of ketamine on your brain, controlled doses in a therapeutic setting have been approved as a treatment for mental health conditions. Studies also show promise for ketamine as a treatment for chronic pain, as well.

Ketamine affects three areas, or regions, of your brain. At the back of your brain, the posteromedial cortex is likely connected with the spacey, dissociative feeling that ketamine produces. But the other two areas of stimulation are what make ketamine an effective antidepressant and pain relief treatment.

Ketamine therapy produces a transformative effect in the prefrontal cortex, the area where planning and executive function take place, and in the hippocampus, which forms memories. Scientists compare treatment to flipping a switch in the brain.

Ketamine activates parts of your brain that have been dormant and quiets areas that have been over-active. Ketamine blocks activity in the synaptic NMDA receptors between your brain’s neurons. Research shows that, after ketamine treatment shuts down some cortical neurons, other neurons that have been suppressed by previous brain activity can “wake up.”

How ketamine therapy could benefit you

The FDA currently approves ketamine therapy as a treatment for depression. Ketamine can even help with depression that has proven resistant to other types of treatment.

For patients with stubborn, treatment-resistant depression or persistent chronic pain, ketamine may be what’s needed to shut down worn mental grooves of pain, stress, sadness, and traumatic memories. After ketamine therapy, your excitatory neurons switch on and get to work building new mental pathways.

Administering ketamine intravenously (IV) means that the effects take hold right away, as the IV bypasses your digestive system and sends the medication directly into your bloodstream. The team observes you during treatment in case of an atypical reaction. You may need multiple treatment sessions to see the best possible results.

At Iconic Infusions, PLLC, your ketamine treatment takes place in a restful space customized for your comfort, including several kinds of readily available positive sensory stimulation. Ketamine can be abused when not administered in a medical environment. Dr. Bryant ensures that your low dose of ketamine won’t become an addiction.

To learn more about the effects of ketamine infusion therapy and determine if you could be a good candidate for this type of treatment, contact Dr. Bryant and the team at Iconic Infusions, PLLC, today. Schedule your initial consultation appointment online or over the phone now.