Effects Of Lithium On The Development Of Chick Embryo And The Cognition Of Chicks

Objective: This research is to investigate the effects of prenatal lithium exposure on cognitive behavior, and to provide a theoretical basis for side effects ,which is generated in the treatment with lithium for the BPD patients.Methods: The four sets of experiments were conducted in this study. (1) Different concentrations of lithium were injected into the airspace of the eggs and the best one-trial passive avoidance learning paradigm was used to examine the restricted effect of prenatal lithium exposure on memory consolidation in day-old chicks. (2) GFAAS (graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry) was used to detemine lithium deposition in the brain tissue of chicks in the early postnatal period after prenatal lithium exposure. (3) RT-PCR methods were employed to detecte the expression of learning and memory gene, such as JUN, NMDA, and BDNF, to explore the effects of prenatal lithium exposure on cognitive behavior in chicks. (4) Chick embryonic neuroglial cell in vitro were cultured with different concent rations of lithium chloride, to exposure the toxicity of lithium on the growth of neuroglial cell.Results: (1) Prenatal exposure to lithium did not affect the hatch rate; but affected short-term memory (STM) and long-term memory (LTM). (2) Prenatal lithium exposure led to lithium deposition in the brain of chick. (3) Prenatal lithium exposure increased the expression of BDNF, while decreased the expression of JUN and NMDA. (4) Lithium inhibit the growth of neuroglial cell.Conclusion: Prenatal lithium exposure had an effect on the developmetal of nervous system in chick embryo ,and it impaired the learning and memory in chick.