Seggie J, Werstiuk E S, Grota L
Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 1987;11(2-3):325-34. doi: 10.1016/0278-5846(87)90077-7.
Lithium, a widely used substance for treatment of manic-depressive illness has been reported to alter the phase relationship of a variety of circadian rhythms which have been implicated in the aetiology of depression and manic-depressive disorder. Although its mechanism of action is not understood, the theraputic action of lithium has been related to its ability to alter circadian rhythms. Chronic lithium administration to rats resulted in lithium levels comparable to the human theraputic range. These lithium levels affected a broad range of biological variables by significantly modifying their circadian pattern of variation, notably during the dark period of an alternating 12h light/12h dark schedule. These included water intake, body weight, retina weight and pineal, serum, retina and hypothalamic melatonin measures. Retinal lithium levels were significantly higher than serum lithium levels and retinal melatonin levels were reduced by lithium. The data are interpreted as suggesting that lithium may exert its theraputic effects by influencing melatonin levels at several locations along the retinal-hypothalamic-pineal pathway, resulting in a modulation of the potential cue value of this physiological stimulus for synchronization of circadian rhythms. Such an effect of lithium could have important chronobiological implications for circadian rhythms which use light and dark as a phase cue.
锂是一种广泛用于治疗躁郁症的物质，据报道它会改变多种昼夜节律的相位关系，而这些昼夜节律与抑郁症和躁郁症的病因有关。尽管其作用机制尚不清楚，但锂的治疗作用与其改变昼夜节律的能力有关。给大鼠长期施用锂后，其体内锂水平与人类治疗范围相当。这些锂水平通过显著改变其昼夜变化模式，影响了广泛的生物学变量，尤其是在12小时光照/12小时黑暗交替周期的黑暗期。这些变量包括饮水量、体重、视网膜重量以及松果体、血清、视网膜和下丘脑褪黑素的测量值。视网膜中的锂水平显著高于血清锂水平，且锂会降低视网膜褪黑素水平。这些数据被解释为表明锂可能通过影响视网膜-下丘脑-松果体途径中多个位置的褪黑素水平来发挥其治疗作用，从而调节这种生理刺激对昼夜节律同步的潜在提示价值。锂的这种作用可能对以明暗作为相位提示的昼夜节律具有重要的时间生物学意义。
