Effects of lithium salts on memory.

Thirteen patients diagnosed as having affective disorders, and who were taking lithium, were compared with drug-free controls on short-term and long-term memory tasks. There was some indication that patients on lithium may show an impairment of short-term memory at fifteen-second delay intervals, and possibly enhanced long-term recall of difficult material. Further comparison with results obtained from six patients on tricyclic antidepressants seemed to reduce the possibility that the lithium group's scores were a function of their psychiatric status. As the group sizes were small, all the findings need to be replicated.