One question surrounding the structure-reactivity relationship is whether there exists a correlation between the degree of aggregation and the reactivity of organolithium reagents. It was originally proposed that lower aggregates such as monomers are more reactive in alkyllithiums. However, reaction pathways in which dimer or other oligomers are the reactive species have also been discovered, and for lithium amides such as LDA, dimer-based reactions are common. A series of solution kinetics studies of LDA - mediated reactions suggest that lower aggregates of enolates do not necessarily lead to higher reactivity. Also, some Lewis bases increase reactivity of organolithium compounds. However, whether these additives function as strong chelating ligands, and how the observed increase in reactivity relates to structural changes in aggregates caused by these additives are not always clear. For example, TMEDA increases rates and efficiencies in many reactions involving organolithium reagents. Toward alkyllithium reagents, TMEDA functions as a donor ligand, reduces the degree of aggregation, and increases the nucleophilicity of these species. However, TMEDA does not always function as a donor ligand to lithium cation, especially in the presence of anionic oxygen and nitrogen centers. For example, it only weakly interacts with LDA and LiHMDS even in hydrocarbon solvents with no competing donor ligands. In imine lithiation, while THF acts as a strong donating ligand to LiHMDS, the weakly coordinating TMEDA readily dissociates from LiHMDS, leading to the formation of LiHMDS dimers that is the more reactive species. Thus, in the case of LiHMDS, TMEDA does not increase reactivity by reducing aggregation state. Also, as opposed to simple alkyllithium compounds, TMEDA does not deaggregate lithio-acetophenolate in THF solution. The addition of HMPA to lithium amides such as LiHMDS and LDA often results in a mixture of dimer/monomer aggregates in THF. However, the ratio of dimer/monomer species does not change with increased concentration of HMPA, thus, the observed increase in reactivity is not the result of deaggregation. The mechanism of how these additives increase reactivity is still being researched. The C-Li bond in organolithium reagents is highly polarized. As a result, the carbon attracts most of the electron density in the bond and resembles a carbanion.