Lithium effects on social aggregation in the goldfish (Carassius auratus).

In the first experiment, using 240 goldfish in pairs, the effects of lithium chloride on social aggregation were observed. It was found that aggregation was reduced between two fish when both had received lithium treatment. When, in the second experiment, 24 fish were investigated in groups of three, it was found that maximal disruption of aggregation occurred when all three fish were lithium treated, but that partial social disruption occurred following lithium treatment of two out of three fish. The results are interpreted in terms of a possible lithium induced impairment of central processing of the sensory stimuli responsible for eliciting social following responses.