Ketamine is a disassociative anaesthetic that increases the amount of a neuropeptide called NMDA in certain regions of the
brain. This causes a
sequence of neuroevents that lead to glutamate (a common neurotransmitter, not a problem at normal levels) flooding and killing
regions of the brain involved in something with emotion and higher level reasoning. The damage is called Onley's lesions. The same sort of damage can be caused by huffing aerosol or getting high off cough syrup. This sequence of neurochemical events is much like what happens when the brain is deprived of oxygen for a period bordering on death. Similar experienced have been reported by people who have undergone near death experiences and people who have used heavy doses of ketamine and lived---- The drug Selegiline, approved for Parkinson's diseases in the US by the FDA, may hafve some neuroprotective effect that could counter the damage. It may be more promising as a way to counter the neurotoxic effects of Ecstasy (MDMA)
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