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The loss of neurons, especially in the hippocampus, in patients with mood disorders is thought to result, in part, from the excessive signaling at N-methyl-d-aspartate and other glutamate receptors that is associated with elevated levels of free intracellular calcium ions. Researchers in Canada investigated the effect of the mood stabilizers lithium and valproate on glutamate-induced intracellular calcium (Ca2+) signaling in rat cerebral cortical cells, which were incubated at three different glutamate concentrations. Some samples were treated for a week beforehand with lithium or valproate.
As expected, glutamate increased intracellular Ca2+ ion concentrations. Lithium and valproate had no effect on baseline intracellular Ca2+ concentration…