Chronic lithium treatment prevent anxiety-like behavior related to dietary restriction

Abstract

Caloric intake reduction has been considered as the major experimental assay able to increase longevity. Therefore, its effects upon cognition and mood like behavior are poorly explored. On the other hand, Li+ is a re-emergent therapeutic drug used to treat mood disorders, mainly bipolar disorder, with antipanic and antidepressant actions. On the hypothesis that lithium treatment could attenuate the negatives effects of stress on Central Nervous Systems (CNS), we evaluated the role of chronic lithium treatment on anxiety-like behaviors in animals submitted to stress by chronic moderated feed restriction (FR). Male wistar rats were divided into four groups (n = 7-8/group) according to dietary and drug manipulation: ad libitum (AL) with unlimited access to standard rat diet, lithium treatment (AL + Li) which received approximately 50 mg/Kg animal/day of LiCl solved in water and ad libitum diet, FR that were fed with equivalent to 70% of total rat diet consumed by AL group, and FR + Li which received diet corresponding to FR and Li administration. After 12 weeks of drug and FR manipulation, anxiety like behavior was evaluated in elevated plus mazes (EPM). Chronic lithium treatment prevent the anxiogenic like effect of FR (open time, F3,30=3.588; P=.0265; percentage of open entries, F3,30=6.004; P=.00029; and open time at the first min, 2.35; F3,30=4.937; P=.0073, Duncan test P<.05) compared to AL diet. Ours results adding to evidences that moderate feed restriction my increase anxiety-like behavior; also suggest that chronic lithium treatment may be attenuated this effects.