Fig. 2. Lithium (6 mEq/kg) (Li6) suppression of spontaneous neuroapoptosis and protection against neuroapoptosis induced by ketamine (Keta) (40 mg/kg) or propofol (50 mg/kg) in the cortex and caudate/putamen. Number of animals per treatment condition is indicated in parentheses. ( A ) Compared to saline controls, lithium alone significantly decreased the density of activated caspase 3 (AC3) positive profiles ( P = 0.0046). ( B ) The vehicle control group consists of pups treated with saline (control for ketamine) or intralipid (control for propofol). These groups were combined into a single vehicle control group because their mean values were not significantly different. Overall treatment effects were highly significant (ANOVA P < 0.0001), and post hoc analysis revealed that the density of AC3 positive profiles was significantly increased by ketamine ( P < 0.001) and propofol ( P < 0.001). Lithium abolished the neuroapoptosis response to ketamine ( P < 0.001) and propofol ( P < 0.001), leaving the AC3-positive profile count at or below the vehicle control level.