Back on April 6, UCLA published a press release about a how lithium, the standard of treatment for bipolar disorder, helps build gray brain matter.
I’ll let the research speak for itself –
These new findings suggest that lithium may work by increasing the amount of gray matter in particular brain areas, which in turn suggests that existing gray matter in these regions of bipolar brains may be underused or dysfunctional.
and
The neurobiological underpinnings of bipolar disorder — an illness marked by a roller coaster of emotions between mania and depression — are not well understood. Nor is it understood how lithium works in controlling these severe mood swings, even though it has been the standard treatment for some 50 years.
This study helps contribute to our body knowledge about the effects of bipolar disorder on the brain structure, with one more data point. However, we’re still a long way to understanding the actual mechanisms involved in creating “bipolar disorder” in the brain.
If we know so little about lithium, a drug that’s been used for 50 years in the treatment of bipolar disorder, imagine how little we know about newer mood stabilizers.
The study will appear in the July issue of the journal Biological Psychiatry.
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psychology schools » Lithium Builds Brain Matter in Bipolar Brains (4/12/2007)
12 Comments to
“Lithium Builds Brain Matter in Bipolar Brains”
I have to say that this study is the most specifically applicable study of the brain, and how it is affected by a particular substance that I am seen. It shows great promise for the field. Also, to the journalist’s credit, the results are given in an accurate, even-handed fashion. A shred of hope in the murk of popular reporting of science!
I must say, I was almost ready to run to my doctor and ask for a prescription. I mean, who wouldn’t want to improve attention and emotional control (although, lest I start misrepresenting, the study does not claim any such direct causal effect of the drug.
But then I read up on the side effects of lithium. Hair loss, weight gain, regular blood tests to control levels of the drug….As with most drugs, it is best reserved for those who really, really need it.
“I am seen” might read better as “I have seen.”
Sorry for the lack of edit.
Yeah - plus you have to drink gallons of water to offset potential damage to your kidneys (and stop drinking coffee)…lithium is certainly not something you’d want to use recreationally 
As you mentioned Greg, whether Lithium causes brain matter to “Grow” is unknown. Relationships in psychology are NEVER this simple (unfortunately).
It could be that bipolar disorder is caused by some sort of defecit in the brain (i.e. protein, mineral, enzyme, neurotransmitter) that inhibits gray matter production. Perhaps Lithium then offsets that defecit somehow - resulting in normal gray matter production. If this were the case, Lithium would not have the same effect on a person without bipolar disorder.
It is kind of too bad though - I mean, who couldn’t find uses for a few extra neurons?
Nicole - lithium has been studied extensively and it’s not just this one study that’s shown its effects on the physical structure of the brain.
Lithium doesn’t cause gray matter to “grow”, you are correct. It’s been theorized that lithium has a neuroprotective effect, protecting neurons from being lost in the first place. In unmedicated people with bipolar disorders, there is gray matter loss. Bipolar doesn’t inhibit gray matter production, it actually kills neurons (the loss gets worse over time, it’s not that there was never growth to begin with). So by taking lithium that loss is prevented.
It’s important to keep in mind that neurons don’t grow throughout your lifetime. Once you pass a certain point of development, that’s basically all the brain you’re ever going to get. Illnesses like Alzheimer’s kill the existing cells, and they aren’t replaced.
There is research on neurogenesis (new neuron growth) caused by antidepressants (depression causes volume loss in areas like the hippocampus), but there is not a pill you can take that can willy-nilly give you all-new neurons all over the brain, and neurogenesis research is still new (only since about 2003).
Neuroplasticity is the buzzword these days, which is the brain’s ability to adapt to neuron loss by establishing circuits in other areas. It’s common in stroke victims (who also have irreplaceable cell death).
Hank - It’s great that this is the best study you’ve ever seen. I hope you’ll read more of them and realize there’s a lot more to neuroscience than “promise.”
Oops! Sorry, I meant Greg and not Hank. 
I want to comment on the side effects and benefits of Lithium; my doctor has prescribed it to me. I take between 900 and 1200mg a day. It is, indeed, important to drink water when taking this medication. And yes, weight gain is linked to lithium however it is NOT caused by lithium - lithium, for many people, makes you more hungry and thirsty. So essentially you will eat more and drink more, a good chance of some of that extraness being sodas and junk food, without proper exercise. As long as you maintain a healthy diet and exercise a little bit, you shouldn’t gain any weight. For me, it has the opposite side effects combined with my other medications. I’m never hungry. I have to force myself to eat.
On the other hand, since lithium is a salt, I found out the hard way that when taking lithium it is extremely important to monitor your salt-intake. I use to salt EVERYTHING. At the time my doctor said it was okay for me to be on 1500mg of lithium (extremely high doseage. I’m 90lbs and 19 years old but my blood levels were fine with this amount) However once it got regulated in my system and me doing the usual “let’s salt everything” deal, I began getting excessively thirsty. It eventually got to the point where I could not go five minutes without drinking something (my choice usually being water - I would consume 3 water bottles, a soda, and a glass of milk within 15 minutes)It didn’t register with me that this wasn’t right. I started getting shaky, trembly, dizzy. Then I realized: !! Too much salt! Cut back on it and cut back on the lithium doseage! I talked to my doctor and we’re still adjusting my medications.
Everything is fine now, but another thing to keep in mind…you cannot..CANNOT..take ibuprofen, aleve..some cold medicines as well. Acetaminophen (spelling is off on that…its Tylenol) is approved and so is aspirin to take with lithium.
On the upside, lithium really balances me out. I feel a lot more stable and I am not an emotional rollercoaster. I’m not raging angry over something small then leaping around the kitchen singing…or something. I feel so much better on lithium - i am able to function normally. i’ve been put on paxil, celexa, lexapro, cymbalta, and many other things and they havent done anything for me except give me negative side effects (such as making me so spaced out i never talk and don’t pay much attention to whats going on around me) I’m on other medications as well but lithium has done wonders, and with proper care with this medication, it really can be a life-saver.
I gained 65lbs while on lithium for about six months. This brought me up to 184 lbs, when I was used to being 120-135 lbs. It gave me tremendous side-effects besides the weight gain (and I wasn’t eating junk food all day) - and when I was bitten on the foot by a common spider, my foot swelled up so much I couldn’t even put on slippers or sandals. I had a toxic reaction to the bite that I likely wouldn’t have had, if I hadn’t been on lithium. I was SO glad to get off it, get rid of the constant blood tests, and drinking all that water. I’ve had an uphill battle to lose that weight over the past 10 yrs - I’ve only lost 25 lbs and that was with Weight Watchers. Even with that, I felt like I was starving all the time because I’m also on another anti-depressant. Right now, I do best on a combination of EffexorXR and Lamotrigne. I’ve been on epival, lithium, tegretol (gave me a Hodgkins Lymphoma), and topomax. My new doctor took me off the topomax and lowered my does of EffexorXR in half. I’m more stable than I’ve ever been. I guess lithium can help some people, but in my experience I wouldn’t allow my kids on it, or recommend it to anyone. Maybe it does affect your grey matter - I know on MRI’s a person with bipolar’s brain looks different - but I think it’s dangerous stuff to be playing around with. The dosages have to be high and it affects your liver and kidney function. Guess I was one of the “unlucky” ones who couldn’t use it, but I was unaware before reading this that lithium was even used anymore.
Good luck to those who use it, but I’d advise getting a second opinion, and looking at other drug options before starting on it. JMHO!
i have been misdiagnosed by several doctors for several years. they kept putting me on different SSRI’s and AD’s, effexor, paxil, prozac, lexipro, cymbalta, buspar, and another one i cant even remember the name of. they all made me worse. they all gave me panic attacks, and they made me think bad thoughts, real bad.
i finally went to an actual psychiatrist and he told me i was bipolar, and i was shocked! i thought there was no way i could be bipolar (of course at the time i didnt reall know what bipolar meant) the doc suggested lithium and after thinking for a day i decided ‘what the hell’ it seemed so obtuse to me that i hoped it worked.
IT WORKED!!! i have no side effects and have never felt this ‘normal’ in my life. it has changed everything for me. it also got rid of most of my anxiety. if you have not been responding to the normal AD’s and SSRI’s i suggest you give lithium a try. it freaked me out at first ‘oh my god im taking lithium’ but after my anxitey went away i dont mind at all.
Lithium works? Prove it. Benefits/ grey matter growth? I’m sorry, I hope they publish something about lithium that’s true.
Maybe we know more about newer drugs because they have to go through so much more scrutiny than the drugs 50 years ago….?
Well Deb,
If you do your research you will find that lithium is the only clinically proven medication for bipolar disorder.
Proof that it works?
It was the cutting edge drug that enabled doctors to distinguish between schizophrenia and bipolar in institutions. Because a lot of the bipolar folks… got better!
Blah blah blah. This drug is very effective for a large population of bipolars. Not everyone, but a lot.
estella
IM SEVENTEEN AND IVE BEEN ON MEDS FOR ADHD AND BI-POLAR TYPE 1 FOR ALMOST 5 YEARS NOW…FOR SOME REASON I HAVE NO INSURENCE SO MY MOM ASKED MY DOCTER IF THERE WAS ANYTHING CHEAPER THAN WHAT I WAS ON AND SHE PUT ME ON ADERALL AND “LITHIUM” I WAS OK AT FIRST FOR ABOUT 2WEEKS AND THATS WHEN MY NIGHTMARE BEGAN…
I NOTICED THE THINGS THAT USED TO MAKE ME MAD WERE NOW INTENSIFYED AND I TOLD MY MOM BUT SHE SAID I WAS JUST ABLE TO FEEL MY EMOTIONS BETTER NOW BECAUSE OF MY MEDS….WELL IT CONTINUED AND I DIDNT LIKE IT…I WAS TAKING LITHIUM TWICE ADAY AND MY DOCTER SWITCHED ME TO JUST TAKING IT ALL AT ONCE AT NIGHT…I STARTED HAVING CRAZY THOUGHTS ABOUT THINGS IVE NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT BEFORE AND I KNEW IT WASNT NORMAL…I WAS SCARED TO TELL SOMEONE BECAUSE I DIDNT WANT ANYONE TO THINK I WAS CRAZY AND PUT ME IN A HOSPITIAL BUT I TOLD SOMEONE AND IM GETTING HELP….I HOPE THIS HELPS SOMEONE SOMEWHERE KNOW THERE NOT ALONE
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Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 12 Apr 2007
