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Chronic Lithium Treatment Decreases [ 3 H]‐Imipramine Binding in Rat Brain
Author(s) -
Maeda Kiyoshi,
Tanimoto Kenji,
Terada Teruhisa
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
psychiatry and clinical neurosciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.609
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1440-1819
pISSN - 1323-1316
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1819.1986.tb03145.x
Subject(s) - imipramine , lithium (medication) , striatum , chemistry , medicine , endocrinology , cerebral cortex , binding site , pharmacology , biochemistry , alternative medicine , pathology , dopamine
The effect of a chronic lithium treatment on the [3H]‐imipramine binding in rat brain regions was investigated. In the striatum, an oral administration of lithium for 30 days induced a decrease in the [3H]‐imipramine binding at the concentration of [3′H]‐imipramine, 1.0 nM, compared to the control. Lithium did not affect the [3H]‐imipramine binding in the cerebral cortex and hypothalamus. A Scatchard analysis in the striatum revealed a decrease in the number of [3H]‐imipramine binding sites with no changes in the binding affinity. These results suggest that the chronic lithium treatment may produce subsensitivity of the [3H]‐imipramine binding in man and that this effect of the ion may be closely related to the established effect of lithium in the treatment of affective disorders.