[kibwen]

In which case, the headline would be correct. If ketamine can only treat depression by inducing a trip, then it's the trip that treats the depression, not the ketamine, which suggests future avenues of research into trips themselves, possibly excluding ketamine altogether.

[aYsY4dDQ2NrcNzA]

The trip could be necessary but not sufficient.

[alex_lav]

Isn't this true of most drugs? It's not the NSAID that treated the pain, it's the reduction in inflammation...

[aftoprokrustes]

Not really. If it is the _experience_ that is the main cause for reduction of depressive symptoms, it means that other ways to generate similar experiences (such as meditation, talk therapy, prayer, sensory deprivation...) could have a similar effect. If it is the physical effect of the medicine on the brain which is responsible for the effect, it would mean that it might be possible to design drugs that have the same effectiveness without being psychoactive.

[alex_lav]

Ah, I understand the nuance you’re trying to capture now.

[kibwen]

The point being that if you identify the root cause, you can find different avenues to the same ends.