Unit:
Τομέας Κοινωνικής Ιατρικής - Ψυχιατρικής και ΝευρολογίαςLibrary of the School of Health Sciences
Dissertation committee:
Χ.Παπαγεωργίου, Καθηγητής, Α.Μαΐλλης, Αναπλ. Καθηγητής, Ε.Τσάλτα, Αναπλ. Καθηγήτρια
Original Title:
Επίδραση του λιθίου στη συμπεριφορά πειραματοζώων
Summary:
The study examined the effects of chronic lithium on rat behavior components,
mainly learning and memory. Lithium was found to enhance spatial working memory
in the T-maze alternation task (a non-matching-to-sample task), while leaving
learning and reference memory unaffected. The result occurred when working
memory was challenged to its functional limits. Chronic lithium also showed a
tendency to strengthen the long-term retention of aversive contingency in the
step-through passive avoidance task. The latent inhibition task in the Skinner
box indicated no effects of chronic lithium on selective attention, as
expressed by the ability of rats to ignore irrelevant stimuli. Fear
conditioning was also unaffected, as reported by the conditioned emotional
response experiment in the Skinner box. Tail flick and hot plate tasks proved
no evidence of lithium effects on nociception. Taken together, the above
findings suggest that the enhancing effect of chronic lithium on rats’ memory
is a primary effect and not a by-product of learning or attentional deficits,
nor of the reduction of rats’ stress levels. The study claims that the recently
established neuroprotective and neurotrophic properties of lithium on the
cellular level, can be expressed on the behavioral level as well.
Keywords:
Lithium, Working memory, Latent inhibition, Passive avoidance, T-maze
Number of references:
1058
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