Dr. John Krystal is Chair of Psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine. He is best known for leading the discovery of the rapid antidepressant effects of ketamine, which paved the way for the first major new antidepressant drug in decades. Here, Dr. Krystal talks about what we’ve learned in the five years since esketamine nasal spray was approved by the FDA, including efforts to predict treatment response, dosage and frequency, safety, and long-term impact. He also discusses advances in our understanding of alcohol use disorder and weighs in on the search for psychiatric biomarkers.
00:00 Introduction
01:01 Dr. Krystal's Research Journey
03:32 What We’ve Learned Since Esketamine’s FDA Approval
05:59 Avoiding Misuse of Ketamine
08:11 Optimizing Dosage and Understanding Effects
16:25 Predicting Treatment Outcomes
24:17 Comparing Ketamine to Psychedelics
25:48 Understanding Alcohol Use Disorder and Treatment Innovations
32:33 Precision Psychiatry and Personalized Treatment Approaches
39:49 Role of Biomarkers in Psychiatry
41:03 Reflecting on the Future of Psychiatric Research and Treatment
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Podcast producer: Jon Earle