In this study, we examined the impact of an antidepressant dose of ketamine on the encoding, retrieval, and modulation of fear and spatial memory in adult Wistar rats. Ketamine (10 mg/kg, IP) was administered during specific phases of Pavlovian fear conditioning (implicit memory) and the Morris Water Maze (MWM; explicit memory). While it partially impaired fear extinction when administered before acquisition or retrieval, it enhanced memory modulation and improved performance during MWM reversal training.
30 Aug 2024
We successfully completed the Arkhé training on "Brain, Cognition, and Evolution" from August 25–30. The lectures were accompanied by stimulating discussions and engaging interactions. You can find the program details here:
https://archeprojesi.com/kamp/beyin-bilis-ve-evrim-brain-cognition-and-e...
29 Jun 2024
We attended the FENS Forum 2024 in the beautiful city of Vienna! Defne and Sinem presented their work on the "fiber density analysis of the catecholaminergic projections in the Japanese quail" (click for abstract), while Bahar demonstrated that "ketamine exerts differential effects on implicit and explicit memory processes in adult Wistar rats" (click for abstract).
22 May 2024
Ketamine is a rapid-acting antidepressant associated with various cognitive side effects. To mitigate these side
effects while enhancing efficacy, it can be co-administered with other antidepressants. In this study, we adopted a
similar strategy by combining ketamine with environmental enrichment, a potent sensory-motor paradigm, in
adult rats, and observed that combining environmental enrichment with ketamine led to a synergistic antidepressant effect!
11 Mar 2024
Our dedicated Research Assistant, Dilan Gökalp, successfully defended her thesis on the same day we received the exciting news of our article's acceptance: The Role of mGluR5 on the Therapeutic Effects of Ketamine in Wistar Rats in Psychopharmacology: https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s00213-024-06571-3.pdf
28 Feb 2024
In this review, we outline the laboratory procedures employed to evaluate depressive- and anxiety-like behaviors in rats and mice. These assessments encompass constructs dependent on stress-induced responses, such as behavioral despair, as well as those arising from non-aversive training, like cognitive bias. We detail the specific behavioral tests utilized for evaluating these constructs and examine criticisms regarding their theoretical underpinnings.
12 Feb 2024
Defne and Sinem conducted their initial research visit to Ruhr-Universität Bochum as part of our collaboration with Dr. Noemi Rook, Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Onur Güntürkün, and Kevin Haselhuhn to study the limbic system of the Japanese quail. This collaboration is jointly funded by the Scientific and Technological Research Institution of Turkey (TÜBİTAK) and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).
15 Nov 2023
Deren presented our work on the behavioral and neural effects of intermittent environmental enrichment at the Neuroscience 2023 (D.C., USA). This particular experiment, carried out by Aybüke and Deren, is part of our ongoing efforts to comprehend the intricate behavioral and circuit-level effects of environmental enrichment in rats.
25 Jul 2023
We developed a novel, shea butter-based ketamine ointment, and showed that transdermal ketamine ameliorated behavioral despair without altering general locomotor activity and anxiety-like behavior. Combining behavioral assessment with pharmacokinetic analysis, we suggest that skin-friendly drug carriers like shea butter may constitute promising alternatives to current routes of delivery for ketamine.
11 Jun 2023
Sinem, Defne, Ece, Zeynep and Bahar presented their work with 3 posters at the 21st National Neuroscience Congress organized by Bolu Abant İzzet Baysal University.
Furthermore, explaining the role of ketamine on different phases of fear conditioning, Zeynep and Bahar received a poster prize!
