Examining memory reconsolidation as a mechanism of nitrous oxide's antidepressant action.

There is an ongoing need to identify novel pharmacological agents for the effective treatment of depression. One emerging candidate, which has demonstrated rapid-acting antidepressant effects in treatment-resistant groups, is nitrous oxide (NO)-a gas commonly used for sedation and pain management in clinical settings and with a range of pharmacological effects, including antagonism of NMDA glutamate receptors. A growing body of evidence suggests that subanaesthetic doses of NO (50%) can interfere with the reconsolidation of maladaptive memories in healthy participants and across a range of disorders.

Targeting drug memory reconsolidation: a neural analysis.

Addiction can be conceptualised as a disorder of maladaptive learning and memory. Therefore, maladaptive drug memories supporting drug-seeking and relapse behaviours may present novel treatment targets for therapeutic approaches based upon reconsolidation-blockade. It is known that different structures within the limbic corticostriatal system contribute differentially to different types of maladaptive drug memories, including pavlovian associations between environmental cues and contexts with the drug high, and instrumental memories underlying drug-seeking.