In a 2007 animal study of brain ischemia, Dr. Yan reports lithium facilitated recovery of brain functions like spatial learning and memory in mice after cerebral ischemia caused by 15 minutes of carotid artery occlusion. The authors state: “These results suggest that lithium up-regulates the generation and survival of new-born cells in the hippocampus ….and improves the behavioral disorder in rats after transient global cerebral ischemia.”