Effect of lithium chloride on the circadian rhythm in the flight activity of the microchiropteran bat, Taphozous melanopogon.

We have performed experiments on the influence of Li+ offered through drinking water i) on the period length (tau) of the rhythm in the flight of bats under LL and ii) on phase angles during entrainment under LD cycles. Bats subject to entrainment exhibited no qualitative and quantitative change in psi values after Li+ treatment. In contrast the ingestion of Li ions by bats under free-running conditions shortens the tau of the bat rhythm by an amount that is a function of period length prior to ingestion. Tau is, thus homeostatically conserved in the face of Li administration in bats.