Lithium chloride alleviates cognitive impairment and decreases anxiety-like behavior in diabetic mice

Abstract

Clinical and experimental studies have demonstrated that type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) affects the brain structure and function, leading to cognitive impairments. Previous studies have reported putative neuroprotective effects of lithium in certain neurodegenerative disorders. However, the beneficial effects of lithium on improving cognitive impairments and alleviating affective disorders induced by T2DM remain to be elucidated. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the effects of lithium chloride treatment on cognitive and affective functions in diabetic mice. We found that the diabetic mice exhibited hyperglycemia and cognitive deficits in the novel object recognition test (NORT) and novel object location recognition test (NOLT), increasing anxiety-like behavior and depressive-like behavior. The treatment with lithium chloride normalized the blood glucose level, improved cognitive function in NOLT and alleviated anxiety-like behavior in diabetic mice. Our findings provide added information regarding the therapeutic benefits of lithium against diabetes-associated cognitive and affective impairments.

Keywords

• lithium chloride
• cognitive impairment
• affective disorders
• diabetes mellitus