A drug known as ketamine induces a mental state similar to psychosis in healthy individuals by inhibiting NMDA receptors in the brain. This creates an imbalance of excitatory and inhibitory signals in the central nervous system, which affects sensory perception. Experts believe that similar changes in NMDA receptors could be linked to perception changes in schizophrenia.
They found that ketamine increased “background noise” in the brain, making sensory signals less defined or pronounced. This, they noted, may explain the distorted perception of reality among people with schizophrenia or psychosis.
The researchers suggested that their findings mean that the distorted reality experienced in psychosis and schizophrenia may be triggered by more background noise, which in itself may be caused by malfunctioning NMDA receptors causing an imbalance of inhibition and excitation in the brain.
Their findings appeared in the European Journal of Neuroscience (Trusted Source).
(Source: Psychosis after ketamine: What happens in the brain? (medicalnewstoday.com)
Further reading Ketamine and Staying Away From the ‘K-Hole’ and Problematic Psychedelics – Prescribing Harm?