Effects of lithium on brain glucose metabolism in healthy men.
Lithium is clinically available for the treatment of mood disorders. However, it has remained unclear how lithium acts on the brain to produce its effects. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of chronic lithium on human brain activity using positron emission tomography and clarify the correlation between brain activity changes and cognitive functional changes as induced by chronic lithium administration. A total of 20 healthy male subjects (mean age, 32 +/- 6 years) underwent positron emission tomographic scans with F-fluorodeoxyglucose and a battery of neuropsychological tests at baseline condition and after 4 weeks of lithium administration. Brain metabolic data were analyzed using statistical parametric mapping. Lithium increased relative regional cerebral glucose metabolism (rCMRglc) in the bilateral dorsomedial frontal cortices including the anterior cingulate gyrus and decreased rCMRglc in the right cerebellum and left lingual gyrus/cuneus. There was no difference in any of the variables of cognitive functions between the baseline condition and after chronic lithium administration. There was no correlation between rCMRglc changes in any of the brain regions and individual variable changes in any of the neuropsychological tests. The results suggest that the effects of chronic lithium are associated with increased activity in the bilateral dorsomedial frontal cortices including the anterior cingulate gyrus and decreased activity in the right cerebellum and left lingual gyrus/cuneus.
Kohno
Tomoya
T
Department of Nuclear Medicine, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, N 15 W 7 Kita-ku, Sapporo, Japan. kohno@med.hokudai.ac.jp
Shiga
Tohru
T
Toyomaki
Atsuhito
A
Kusumi
Ichiro
I
Matsuyama
Tetsuaki
T
Inoue
Tetsuya
T
Katoh
Chietsugu
C
Koyama
Tsukasa
T
Tamaki
Nagara
N
D000328:Adult; D018692:Antimanic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000494:pharmacology; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism*; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D016651:Lithium Carbonate / Q000097:blood / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000379:methods; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals
D018692:Antimanic Agents; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D016651:Lithium Carbonate; D005947:Glucose