Decreased Number of Benzodiazepine Receptors in Frontal Cortex of Rat Brain Following Long-Term Lithium Treatment

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Abstract
Chronic administration of Li+ led to a decreased number of benzodiazepine receptors (.apprx. 20%) in frontal cortex of rat brain, whereas no change was observed in the binding characteristics in the remaining part of the cortex and in the hippocampus and the cerebellum. Long-term Li+ treatment did not change the binding of [3H] LSD and [3H]quinuclidinyl benzilate to membranes of various brain regions in the rat. Evidently the effect of Li+ on the benzodiazepine receptor is brain region specific and cannot be explained as a consequence of a reduced GABA stimulation of benzodiazepine receptor, as the change in receptor binding was due to a change in the number of receptors rather than in the affinity constant.