Lithium is most famous for treatment of manic-depressive disorders.
At high doses lithium can depress dopamine release.
Adaptive changes in the rat dopaminergic transmission
following repeated lithium administration. Dziedzicka-Wasylewska M, Mackowiak M, Fijat K, Wedzony K. Institute
of Pharmacology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Krakow, Poland.
In the present study the alterations in the contents of dopamine
(DA) and metabolites, as well as in the levels of mRNA coding for
DA receptor D2, were determined in the rat striatum (STR) and nucleus
accumbens septi (NAS), in correlation with the duration of lithium
administration. Single or subchronic (3 days) administration of
lithium produced less consistent effects as far as the levels of
DA and metabolites are concerned; however, following 7 or 14 days
of lithium administration, the DA release from terminals was significantly
attenuated and the effect was more pronounced in NAS. After the
same time of treatment, the increase in the levels of mRNA coding
for the D2 receptor was increased; this might be interpreted as
an adaptive change to the decreased dopaminergic transmission following
the prolonged administration of lithium.
