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A new study by Yale researchers links stress, overeating and anxiety while offering novel treatment option for treating depression symptoms that also correct overeating.

According to NDTV, researchers published their findings which showed how the anaesthetic drug ketamine, sometimes also used for recreational purposes, was able to reverse depression like symptoms on rats. The rats used in the studies were fed a high-fat diet for months and noticed that the rats developed depression like symptoms.

"The effects of a high-fat diet overlap with those of chronic stress and could also be a contributing factor in depression as well as metabolic disorders such as Type 2 diabetes," said Ronald Duman, the study's senior author.

The research shows that ketamine can reactivate mTORC pathways damaged by causative factors of depression including stress and overeating. The pathway is also involved in energy metabolism, which helps understand the connection with stressful overeating. Through further research, the authors also showed that ketamine, also known as 'special K' can reverse the effects of high-fat diet on the pathways.

The findings of the study are to be validated by clinical trials but offer promise of helping people with metabolic disorders like Type 2 diabetes that are at a higher risk of depression.

The findings were published in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology.