The striatum is one of the major forebrain regions that strongly expresses muscarinic and nicotinic cholinergic receptors. This article reviews the current knowledge and our new findings about the striatal cholinoceptive organization and its role in a variety of cognitive functions. Pharmacological and genetic manipulations have indicated that the cholinergic and dopaminergic system in the stri...

Cholinergic neurons are widespread, and pharmacological modulation of acetylcholine receptors affects numerous brain processes, but such modulation entails side effects due to limitations in specificity for receptor type and target cell. As a result, causal roles of cholinergic neurons in circuits have been unclear. We integrated optogenetics, freely moving mammalian behavior, in vivo electroph...

Acetylcholine (ACh) was viewed as the “vagusstoff” after Loewi`s experiment with the frog heart [1]. In 1936 Otto Loewi, and Henry Dale were recipients of the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine, by their contribution for the acetylcholine discover as a neurotransmitter [1]. So, ACh was regarded as a neurotransmitter during several decades [2]. After that it was evidenced a widespread expres...

The morphological characteristics of adrenergic and cholinergic innervation are described in the vas deferens of the domestic fowl. Adrenergic innervation was much better developed than the cholinergic. Both types of nerve fibre were found in the muscular membrane, submucosal membrane and in the mucosa. The largest number of adrenergic nerve fibres was observed in the muscular membrane. These w...

Immunohistochemical study of the cholinergic innervation of the hippocampal calretinin-containing cells was conducted on 28 rat brains of postnatal ages: P0, P4, P7, P14, P21, P30 and P60. Sections with double immunostaining for vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT; the marker of cholinergic cells, fibres and terminals) and calretinin were analysed using confocal laser-scanning microscope...

Although the impairments in cognitive performance that result from shifting or disrupting daily rhythms have been demonstrated, the neuronal mechanisms that optimize fixed-time daily performance are poorly understood. We previously demonstrated that daily practice of a sustained attention task (SAT) evokes a diurnal activity pattern in rats. Here, we report that SAT practice at a fixed time pro...

Interactions between noradrenergic and cholinergic receptor signaling may be important in some forms of learning. To investigate whether noradrenergic and cholinergic receptor interactions regulate forms of synaptic plasticity thought to be involved in memory formation, we examined the effects of concurrent beta-adrenergic and cholinergic receptor activation on the induction of long-term potent...

Models of the neuronal mediation of psychotic symptoms traditionally have focused on aberrations in the regulation of mesolimbic dopaminergic neurons, via their telencephalic afferent connections, and on the impact of abnormal mesolimbic activity for functions of the ventral striatum and its pallidal-thalamic-cortical efferent circuitry. Repeated psychostimulant exposure models major aspects of...

NGF is a protein that promotes survival, differentiation, and process extension of selected neuronal populations during development and, in some cases, in the mature organism. Previous lesion and aging studies in the rat have shown that intracerebroventricular NGF infusions can prevent degenerative changes in basal forebrain cholinergic neurons. We sought to determine whether salutory effects o...

The objective of the study was to investigate the morphology, distribution, and electrophysiological profile of the autonomic fibers that innervate the ligament of Marshall (LOM). Gross anatomical dissections were performed in 10 dogs. Sections of the left vagus nerve, left stellate ganglion, and the LOM were immunostained to identify adrenergic and cholinergic nerves. Hearts were also stained ...