How Spravato Works in the Brain
We are pleased to offer Spravato as one of our services at Rochester Holistic Psychiatry. Spravato is a new medication used to treat treatment resistant depression. It is composed of esketamine, a more potent, safer form of ketamine.
Spravato is administered as a nasal spray in a safe environment under the supervision of a medical professional. The patient does not take it home and it is made certain that there will be no abuse of the drug.
Spravato is one of several new treatments for depression and depression-related conditions that are based on psychotropics, such as psilocybin mushrooms. These substances are easily and frequently abused when imbibed. But with careful dosing and mode of administration, they can provide relief. We continue to monitor developments in the science of mental health treatments so that we can stay on top of our mission to help people achieve a better quality of life.
How Spravato works and what it does in the brain is our focus today. To review, these are some common symptoms of depression:
Sadness or general low mood
A desire to withdraw
Lethargy
Feeling hopeless
Feeling worthless
Besides these common symptoms, people who suffer from depression or related conditions like anxiety experience the misfiring of neurotransmitters in the brain. That affects the brain’s ability to communicate with itself and the rest of the body.
Spravato attacks the root cause of depression by working to correct the misfiring of neurotransmitters and encouraging the creation and strengthening of neural pathways. One of the ways Spravato does this is to boost the creation and movement of glutamate. This is the most abundant neurotransmitter in the brain and spinal cord. These are some of the functions of glutamate:
Synaptic plasticity, in which glutamate influences the strength of synapses, which help govern learning and adaptation.
Excitatory neurotransmission, in which glutamate stimulates neurons as they fire, which influences memory and learning.
Neuroprotection, in which glutamate shields neurons from damage.
Spravato helps improve neuroplasticity, the function by which our brains grow and adapt over the span of our lives. This helps us deal with the stressors of life, continue to learn throughout our lives, and recover from injury to neural pathways. The human brain is truly amazing in how it can reorganize itself to meet its needs and adapt to stimulation.
If you have treatment resistant depression and you think Spravato might help, start by talking to your primary physician. Spravato has requirements that must be met before an individual can be approved for it. If you have not first sought treatment with antidepressants and other forms of therapy, start by talking with your doctor. They can run tests and provide referrals to specialists.
We are happy to consult with you about our services and your options. Write to us anytime on our website or call (585) 442-6960.
