3H-Imipramine high-affinity binding sites in rat brain. Effects of imipramine and lithium.

The specific high-affinity binding of 3H-imipramine to rat brain membranes was investigated. Five weeks of lithium treatment decreased the number of binding sites, but had no effect on the affinity constants. Long-term imipramine treatment had no effect on the number of binding sites but apparently decreased the affinity. The latter effect was probably due to imipramine remaining in the membrane preparation.