Glucocorticoids have been shown to influence trophic processes in the nervous system. In particular, they seem to be important for the development of cholinergic neurons in various brain regions. Here, we applied a genetic approach to investigate the role of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) on the maturation and maintenance of cholinergic medial septal neurons between P15 and one year of age by...

A consensus exists that cholinesterase inhibitors (ChEIs) are efficacious for mild to moderate Alzheimer's Disease (AD). Unfortunately, the number of non-responders is large and the therapeutic effect is usually short-lasting. In experimental animals, ChEIs exert three main actions: inhibit cholinesterase (ChE), increase extracellular levels of brain acetylcholine (ACh), improve cognitive proce...

Degeneration of central cholinergic neurons impairs memory, and enhancement of cholinergic synapses improves cognitive processes. Cholinergic signaling is also anti-inflammatory, and neuroinflammation is increasingly linked to adverse memory, especially in Alzheimer's disease. Much of the evidence surrounding cholinergic impacts on the neuroimmune system focuses on the α7 nicotinic acetylcholin...

We previously showed that the GABAergic nucleus zona incerta (ZI) suppresses vibrissae-evoked responses in the posterior medial (POm) thalamus of the rodent somatosensory system. We proposed that this inhibitory incertothalamic pathway regulates POm responses during different behavioral states. Here we tested the hypothesis that this pathway is modulated by the ascending brain stem cholinergic ...

OBJECTIVE This article reviews evidence indicating that acetylcholinesterase inhibitors have psychotropic properties. METHOD The author reviewed the English-language literature pertinent to the response of neuropsychiatric symptoms in Alzheimer's disease and related conditions to cholinergic agents. RESULTS The cholinergic system originates in the basal forebrain and projects diffusely to t...

The role of muscarinic and nicotinic cholinergic receptors in analgesia and neuropathic pain relief is relatively unknown. This review describes how such drugs induce analgesia or alleviate neuropathic pain by acting on the central cholinergic system. Several pharmacological strategies are discussed which increase synthesis and release of acetylcholine (ACh) from cholinergic neurons. The effect...

Within the autonomic system, acetylcholine signaling contributes simultaneously and interactively to cognitive, behavioral, muscle and immune functions. Therefore, manipulating cholinergic parameters such as the activities of the acetylcholine hydrolyzing enzymes in body fluids or the corresponding transcript levels in blood leukocytes can change the global status of the autonomic system in tre...

The cholinergic system in the brain plays crucial roles in regulating sensory and motor functions as well as cognitive behaviors by modulating neuronal activity. Understanding the organization of the cholinergic system requires a complete map of cholinergic neurons and their axon arborizations throughout the entire brain at the level of single neurons. Here, we report a comprehensive whole-brai...

The cholinergic system is one of the most important modulatory neurotransmitter systems in the brain and controls activities that depend on selective attention, which are an essential component of conscious awareness. Psychopharmacological and pathological evidence supports the concept of a 'cholinergic component' of conscious awareness. Drugs that antagonize muscarinic receptors induce halluci...

Augmentation of vagal tone increases ventricular fibrillation threshold (VFT) under nonischemic and ischemic conditions and protects against spontaneous ventricular fibrillation during experimental myocardial infarction. The purpose of this study was to identify the anatomic pathways responsible for this cholinergically-mediated enhanced electrical stability and to determine whether or not thes...