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Effect of Lithium on Brain Dopamine

Abstract

THE efficacy of lithium ion in the therapy of mania is now established1,2, and much speculation about its mode of action has involved its effects on brain catecholamine metabolism. Treatment with lithium ion increases the turnover rate of whole brain noradrenaline2–4; increases intraneuronal while decreasing extraneuronal metabolism of noradrenaline3,4; increases uptake of noradrenaline by synaptosomes5, and reduces the rate of release of 3H-noradrenaline caused by electrical stimulation of striatal slices6. The influence of lithium ion on brain dopamine, however, is less fully documented. Here we describe the effect of chronic lithium chloride treatment on dopamine synthesis in striatal brain slices.

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FRIEDMAN, E., GERSHON, S. Effect of Lithium on Brain Dopamine. Nature 243, 520–521 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1038/243520a0

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