#lithium #neurogenesis #neuroprotective #mood stabilizers -Neurogenesis continues to occur throughout the lifetime in human adult brains, and hippocampus play a substantial role in regulating adult neurogenesis. -Neurogenesis may be impaired by multiple not-fully defined factors (e.g., aging, chronic stress-induced increase of glucocorticoids, and excitotoxicity), accounting for brain atrophy in patients with depressive illness and neurodegenerative diseases. Chronic treatment of lithium exerts neuroprotective effects and stimulates neurogenesis via multiple signaling pathways: -->inhibits glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) -->up-regulates neurotrophins and cell survival molecules (e.g., Bcl-2, cyclic AMP-responsive element binding protein, Grp78, Hsp70, and β-catenin) -->modulates inflammatory molecules -->down-regulates pro-apoptotic activities (e.g., excitotoxicity, p53, Bax, caspase, cytochrome c release, β-amyloid peptide production, and tau hyperphosphorylation) Chen et al., 2000; Son et al., 2003; Senatorov et al., 2004; Wada et al., 2005, Contestabile et al., 2013