Italian researchers have discovered that lithium , a drug commonly used to treat mood disorders and bipolar disorder, is able to stimulate the formation of new neurons (neurogenesis) in the hippocampus , a part of the brain associated with learning and the memory. Lithium also significantly improved the performance of Down syndrome mice on contextual learning, spatial memory, and object distinction tasks.
According to Laura Gasparini and her colleagues from the Italian Institute of Technology in Genoa, in the Journal of Clinical Investigation , the results suggest that lithium-based therapies can solve the cognitive problems of patients with Down syndrome , a neurodevelopmental disorder that is the leading cause of intellectual disability due to genetic causes. People with Down syndrome have alterations in the connections between neurons in the brain and a reduction in the development of new neurons that usually occurs during learning, as the study authors state in their article.
It is not the only benefit that they have found to lithium. Previous studies carried out by German and Japanese scientists and published in the European Journal of Nutrition reveal that regularly ingesting this element in low doses increases life expectancy in both humans and other animals .
