From article: "How does lithium treat bipolar disorder?" The thing is, that this isn't a question that's insignificant. There has been quite a bit of debate w

From article: "How does lithium treat bipolar disorder?" The thing is, that this isn't a question that's insignificant. There has been quite a bit of debate whether various drugs reverse the basic process happening with a given psychiatric disorder or whether they provide a different change which allows a person function. The phrase "chemical imbalance" has been based on the supposition that various drugs that change brain chemical distributions "cure" various conditions - but the question these drug are directly reversing a condition or whether they are adding something more seems important, even if we assume the drugs are broadly useful for helping people function in society.