Breakaway view of classic pain signaling pathway anatomy, integration, and processing. Ketamine (see next image), a recent addition to the approved pharmaceutical repertoire targeted at alleviation of refractory depressive symptoms, is now under intensive investigation as a multi-modal agent for numerous pathologic pain states. The classical pain pathway pictured above is what opioids, or morphine," primarily target and block.
Given Ketamine's unusually varied and broad potential receptor activity in a much more widely distributed range of biological processes, researchers hope to maximize pain relief, tolerance to opioids, and importantly, minimize side effects and deaths associated with mismanagement of narcotics.