Investigating Facilitatory Effects of Lithium on Methamphetamine-induced Spatial Memory Impairments in Rat

Introduction: It has long been known that Methamphetamine (MA), as a psychostimulant, leads to long-lasting cognitive deficits. Previous studies have shown that lithium, a mood stabilizer, could facilitate cognitive ability in most of brain diseases. In current study the effects of lithium on spatial memory, hippocampal apoptosis and brain edema in METH-exposed rats are investigated. Methods: The present study 32 Wistar rats were used to examine the effects of lithium on spatial memory by the Morris water maze, hippocampal apoptosis using the TUNEL assay, and brain edema following MA administrations. Results: The findings indicated that treatment with lithium significantly ameliorated spatial learning and memory impairment in MA-treated rats. In addition, the findings showed that treatment with lithium significantly reduced brain edema and apoptosis in the CA1 neurons in MA -exposed rats. Conclusion: The results show that treatment with lithium can partially ameliorate the MA –induced neurocognitive deficits in rats, which may be related to its protective effect in the hippocampus.