Quantum Bio-Inorganic Chemistry of Lithium: Nuclear Spin Effects, Radical Pairs, and the Thermodynamic Regulation of Neural Dynamics

Quantum Bio-Inorganic Chemistry of Lithium: Nuclear Spin Effects, Radical Pairs, and the Thermodynamic Regulation of Neural Dynamics | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Quantum Bio-Inorganic Chemistry of Lithium: Nuclear Spin Effects, Radical Pairs, and the Thermodynamic Regulation of Neural Dynamics Artem Borozentsev This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8302041/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Lithium remains the ''dark matter'' of psychopharmacology. Despite being the gold standard treatment for Bipolar Disorder and a promising neuroprotective agent for Alzheimer's disease, its molecular mechanism of action presents an enduring challenge for modern medicine. The prevailing hypothesis of ''ionic mimicry''- which suggests that lithium competes with magnesium due to ionic radius similarity- has faced difficulties in quantitatively explaining therapeutic efficacy at sub-toxic concentrations. Furthermore, this classical view does not fully account for the ''Isotope Anomaly,'' wherein Lithium-6 and Lithium-7 exhibit distinct effects on animal behavior and mitochondrial function despite being chemically identical. In this paper, I propose a comprehensive Quantum-Thermodynamic Model of lithium action. The simulations presented here suggest that lithium may act as a quantum modulator of the Radical Pair Mechanism (RPM), potentially regulating mitochondrial Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) and magnesium-dependent enzymatic sites. By exploiting theMagnetic Isotope Effect (MIE) via Hyperfine Interactions , lithium is hypothesized to stabilize the brain's metabolic coherence. This paper provides a mathematical derivation linking spin dynamics to reaction yields via the Haberkorn equation, analyzes the clinical spectrum through the lens of phase transitions, and integrates these findings with the Free Energy Principle. Finally, a definitive ''Zero-Field'' experiment with a negative control is proposed to empirically test this paradigm. Biological sciences/Biochemistry Biological sciences/Biophysics Physical sciences/Chemistry Biological sciences/Neuroscience Magnetic Isotope Effect Radical Pair Mechanism Lithium GSK-3β Alzheimer's Epilepsy Predictive Coding Quantum Biology Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8302041","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":599172932,"identity":"ef75cdba-2c59-489a-9281-48ee6dbd75da","order_by":0,"name":"Artem Borozentsev","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABBUlEQVRIie3RsWrDMBCA4QsBezknq0PBfgUZQUqhkFeRMSSLQ1dNqbqoS0vX+C38CDIGZ9EDZMhQY2hXr11K1SaFDhbJ2EH/cKDh4zgE4HL9y/Dvg3xGZo4UAANfnCPe9+CKAozhh6C6iGiVinNkKoKq43wTXcePbRfIw+olvFOq50vAq2ETqkmWaO3RG4mUBvJtXWwzqLY6B5yw4TUK57MHiWnZoDcr5Hhd7jOoA8lhgcMiPpLwvmz89w9DVuSXoIWQIyGMNDCHXtfsRHIrSWpzi9AsKZuchubqpHjqiLlliTYS7Z6rVvBNTOpd2zNyG0/9tH3teRbZiPkESzbgcrlcrgv6AnoRXFuYmlAHAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"University of Toulouse-Jean Jaurès","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Artem","middleName":"","lastName":"Borozentsev","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-12-07 21:53:04","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8302041/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8302041/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":105342705,"identity":"b68b0396-46d7-4d0e-b8ab-7318b5cf2af3","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-25 03:11:16","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1086612,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"LithiumArtemBorozentsevCorrection.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8302041/v1_covered_764c458c-75ef-4e20-b089-a215147b5638.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Quantum Bio-Inorganic Chemistry of Lithium: Nuclear Spin Effects, Radical Pairs, and the Thermodynamic Regulation of Neural Dynamics","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Magnetic Isotope Effect, Radical Pair Mechanism, Lithium, GSK-3β, Alzheimer's, Epilepsy, Predictive Coding, Quantum Biology","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8302041/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8302041/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eLithium remains the ''dark matter'' of psychopharmacology. Despite being the gold standard treatment for Bipolar Disorder and a promising neuroprotective agent for Alzheimer's disease, its molecular mechanism of action presents an enduring challenge for modern medicine. The prevailing hypothesis of ''ionic mimicry''- which suggests that lithium competes with magnesium due to ionic radius similarity- has faced difficulties in quantitatively explaining therapeutic efficacy at sub-toxic concentrations. Furthermore, this classical view does not fully account for the ''Isotope Anomaly,'' wherein Lithium-6 and Lithium-7 exhibit distinct effects on animal behavior and mitochondrial function despite being chemically identical. In this paper, I propose a comprehensive Quantum-Thermodynamic Model of lithium action. The simulations presented here suggest that lithium may act as a quantum modulator of the Radical Pair Mechanism (RPM), potentially regulating mitochondrial Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) \u0026nbsp;and magnesium-dependent enzymatic sites. 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