A protective effect of lithium on rat behaviour altered by ibotenic acid lesions of the basal forebrain cholinergic system.

Lithium was tested on an animal model of a brain cholinergic excitotoxic lesion. Male Wistar rats received unilaterally 50 nmol ibotenic acid in the nucleus basalis magnocellularis. Some were treated intraperitoneally with LiCl from two days before to six days after lesioning. Such treated rats showed less deficits than untreated lesioned animals on passive avoidance, ambulatory behaviour and choline acetyltransferase activity in the lesioned cortex. Lithium protection against excitatory amino acid neurotoxicity is suggested.