• Skip to main content
  • Skip to main content
Choose which site to search.
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Logo University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Psychiatric Research Institute
  • UAMS Health
  • Jobs
  • Giving
  • Clinical Care
    • Outpatient Care
      • AR ConnectNow
      • Center for Addiction Services and Treatment
        • Improving Access To Treatment For Opioid Use Disorder
        • MATRIARC
          • Project ECHO
        • Medication and Counseling Treatment
        • Medications To Treat Opioid Use Disorders
        • Optimizing Retention, Duration and Discontinuation Strategies for Opioid Use Disorder Pharmacotherapy (RDD)
        • Suboxone Treatment Program
        • Subutex Treatment Program
        • What is Buprenorphine?
        • What Is Methadone?
        • What Is Naltrexone?
        • What Is Vivitrol?
        • Drugs and Addiction
        • New Hybrid Care Program
        • Opioid Use Disorder
      • Child Study Center
        • Dialectical Behavior Therapy
        • Family Resources
          • Handouts for Parents
          • Books
          • Videos
        • Meet the Team – Child Study Center
        • Treatment and Services
      • Psychiatry Clinic in Fayetteville
        • Meet the Team
      • Six Bridges Clinic
      • STRIVE
      • Walker Family Clinic
        • Mental Health Resources
      • Women’s Mental Health Program
        • Peer Support Specialist Services
        • Reproductive Psychiatry Fellowship
        • Substance Use Treatment
        • WMHP Research
        • Women’s Inpatient Unit – 5 North
        • Women’s Mental Health Clinic
        • Women’s Mental Health Program – Fayetteville Branch
      • Odyssey Clinic
        • Northwest Arkansas Schizophrenia Conference 2025 Media
        • Schizophrenia Conference 2024 Media
      • Neuropsychology
    • Inpatient Units
      • Child Diagnostic Unit
        • Child Diagnostic Unit Videos
      • Women’s Inpatient Unit – 5 North
    • Interventional Psychiatry
      • Electroconvulsive Therapy
      • Esketamine
      • Ketamine Infusions
      • SAINT® Neuromodulation System
    • Crisis Stabilization Unit
      • Pulaski County Regional Crisis Stabilization Unit
        • Operation SAVE
  • News
  • PRI Journal
  • Education
  • Research
    • Center for Addiction Research
      • Optimizing Retention, Duration and Discontinuation Strategies for Opioid Use Disorder Pharmacotherapy (RDD)
      • What is Vivitrol?
      • Faculty
        • Alison Oliveto, Ph.D
        • Merideth Addicott, Ph.D.
        • Michael Mancino, M.D.
        • Nihit Kumar, M.D.
    • Center for Health Services Research
      • Behavioral Health QUERI
      • Health Services Research and Development Service
      • Rural Outreach Program
        • Rural Outreach Program Team
      • South Central (VISN 16) Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center
      • Center for Health Services Research Faculty and Staff
        • Brandon J. Griffin, Ph.D.
        • Christopher Long, Ph.D.
        • Corey Hayes, Pharm.D., Ph.D., MPH
        • Eva Woodward, Ph.D.
        • Jacob Painter, Pharm.D, Ph.D.
        • Kent D. Hinkson, Ph.D.
        • Leah Tobey, PT, DPT, MBA
        • Marcela Weber, Ph.D.
        • Mary J. Bollinger, MPH, Ph.D.
        • Meghan Breckling, Pharm.D., BCACP
        • Melissa J. Zielinski, Ph.D.
        • Michael Cucciare, Ph.D.
        • Michael Wilson, M.D., Ph.D., FAAEM, FACEP
        • Prasad R. Padala, M.D., M.S., FACHE
        • Rajinder “Sonia” Singh, Ph.D.
        • Rebecca Raciborski, Ph.D.
        • Ronald G. Thompson, Jr., Ph.D., LCSW
        • Sara J. Landes, Ph.D.
        • Traci Abraham, Ph.D.
        • Angie Waliski, Ph.D.
        • Ellen P. Fischer, Ph.D.
        • Geoffrey M. Curran, Ph.D.
        • Greer Sullivan, M.D., M.S.P.H.
        • Jeffrey M. Pyne, M.D.
        • JoAnn Kirchner, M.D.
        • Joy Reeves Pemberton, Ph.D.
        • Karen Drummond, Ph.D.
        • Kristen M. Viverito, Psy.D.
        • Puru Thapa, M.D., M.P.H.
        • Richard R. Owen, M.D.
        • Teresa Hudson, Pharm.D., Ph.D.
        • Teresa L. Kramer, Ph.D.
      • Postdoctoral Fellowship
        • CeMHOR/HSR&D
        • MIRECC
    • Health and the Legal System (HEALS) Lab
      • Projects in the Health and the Legal System (HEALS) Lab
      • Publications and Media
      • About the HEALS Lab
    • Neurodevelopmental Risk and Resilience Program
    • Research Trials
    • Trauma REsilience & Community Collaboration (TRECC)
      • About TRECC
      • Get Involved
      • Research
        • Current Projects
        • Media
        • Selected Research Publications
      • Resources
        • Measures
        • Tools And Tool Kits
    • Helen L. Porter and James T. Dyke Brain Imaging Research Center
  • Patients and Visitors
    • Art of the Psychiatric Research Institute
    • Mental Health Resources
    • Mission And Vision Statements
    • Social Media
    • Map and Directions
    • Job Openings
    • Faculty and Staff
    • Giving
  1. University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
  2. Psychiatric Research Institute
  3. Clinical Care at the UAMS Psychiatric Research Institute
  4. Interventional Psychiatry at the UAMS Psychiatric Research Institute
  5. Ketamine Infusions

Ketamine Infusions

Over several decades, research has shown that ketamine has antidepressive properties. Ketamine is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an anesthetic, although it is also being used for the management of psychiatric disorders and chronic pain management. Ketamine has been incorporated into the treatment of psychiatric disorders, such as major depressive disorder (MDD), bipolar disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as well as post-operative and chronic pain management. Ketamine infusion therapy is not a first-line therapy for psychiatric disorders or chronic pain management and may be considered by the patient’s interdisciplinary team after failure of standard treatment.

Ketamine infusion therapy involves the administration of a single infusion or a series of infusions for the management of psychiatric disorders like major depressive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, acute suicidality. Ketamine is a noncompetitive N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist that has traditionally been used for the induction and maintenance of anesthesia.

It’s not entirely clear how ketamine works. Because it exerts an antidepressant effect through a new mechanism, ketamine may be able to help people successfully manage depression when other treatments have not worked.

One likely target for ketamine is NMDA receptors in the brain. By binding to these receptors, ketamine appears to increase the amount of a neurotransmitter called glutamate in the spaces between neurons. Glutamate then activates connections in another receptor, called the AMPA receptor. Together, the initial blockade of NMDA receptors and activation of AMPA receptors lead to the release of other molecules that help neurons communicate with each other along new pathways. Known as synaptogenesis, this process likely affects mood, thought patterns, and cognition.

Ketamine also may influence depression in other ways. For example, it might reduce signals involved in inflammation, which has been linked to mood disorders, or facilitate communication within specific areas in the brain. Most likely, ketamine works in several ways at the same time, many of which are being studied.

Because ketamine is not FDA-approved for the treatment of depression, it is not covered by insurance and requires an out-of-pocket payment.

For more information, call (501) 526-8614 or (501) 526-8650 or e-mail psychiatry-interventional@uams.edu.

Psychiatric Research Institute LogoPsychiatric Research InstitutePsychiatric Research Institute
Mailing Address: 4224 Shuffield Drive, Little Rock, AR 72205
Phone: (501) 526-8100
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Disclaimer
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Statement

© 2025 University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences