ABSTRACT
Like all abusive agents, ketamine acts on the central nervous system (CNS). Categorized as a dissociative anesthetic, this drug is known to interfere with the reception of sensory input such that interpretation by the association area of the brain is disrupted (Mion and Villevielle 2013). The drug primarily works on glutamatergic neurons, specically as an N-methyl-daspartate (NMDA) receptor noncompetitive antagonist (Mion and Villevielle 2013). The active molecule of this drug is (S)-ketamine, which has a greater binding afnity for NMDA receptors than its (R) enantiomers, and it can be metabolized to norketamine (Mion and Villevielle 2013).
