Background: To characterize further behavioral, cognitive, neuroendocrine, and
physiological effects of subanesthetic doses of ketamine hydrochloride in healthy human
subjects. Ketamine, a phencyclidine hydrochloride derivative, is a dissociative anesthetic
and a noncompetitive antagonist of theN-methyl-D-aspartate subtype of excitatory amino
acid receptor. Methods: Nineteen healthy subjects recruited by advertisements from the
community participated in this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Subjects …