Lithium Enhances Survival Bias Associated with the Lateral Habenula Suppression

stress (CUMS) paradigm.In the risky-foraging task (RFT), the animals face a conflict between a strong drive to feed and a potential predator threat presented by fox urine concentrated in the foraging zone (Fig. 1A).Representative trajectories highlighted the distinct spatial avoidance behaviors exhibited in the lithium-treated group (Fig. 1B).The total distances traveled in the test cage were comparable between the two groups, indicating that locomotion was not affected by lithium (Fig. 1C).However, lithium-treated mice spent significantly less time in the foraging zone (Fig. 1D) and consumed significantly less food compared to control mice (Fig. 1E), indicating that lithium treatment biases action selection toward threat avoidance and increased survival probability.Chronic stress is a major contributor to mood disorders and cognitive impairments, including disrupted risk assessment and decision-making [2].To test whether the Dear Editor,In clinical psychiatry, lithium is a primary mood stabilizer with well-established anti-suicidal efficacy [1].Suicide is a leading cause of mortality among individuals with psychiatric disorders and represents a complex behavioral phenotype involving valuation, decision-making, and impulsivity.Despite decades of clinical use and robust evidence that lithium reduces suicide risk, the mechanisms underlying its anti-suicidal effects remain poorly understood.Here, we used a translational risky-foraging paradigm in mice to examine how lithium modulates decision-making, when animals must weigh survival probability against immediate reward.To model a clinically relevant mood disorder state, we assessed survival-related decision-making in mice following exposure to a 14-day chronic unpredictable mild