Cognitive functions of cortical acetylcholine: toward a unifying hypothesis - PubMed (original) (raw)
Review
Cognitive functions of cortical acetylcholine: toward a unifying hypothesis
M Sarter et al. Brain Res Brain Res Rev. 1997 Feb.
Abstract
Previous efforts aimed at attributing discrete behavioral functions to cortical cholinergic afferents have not resulted in a generally accepted hypothesis about the behavioral functions mediated by this system. Moreover, attempts to develop such a unifying hypothesis have been presumed to be unproductive considering the widespread innervation of the cortex by basal forebrain cholinergic neurons. In contrast to previous descriptions of the role of cortical acetylcholine (ACh) in specific behavioral phenomena (e.g., mediation of the behavioral effects of reward loss) or mnemonic entities (e.g., working or reference memory), cortical ACh is hypothesized to modulate the general efficacy of the cortical processing of sensory or associational information. Specifically, cortical cholinergic inputs mediate the subjects' abilities to detect and select stimuli and associations for extended processing and to allocate the appropriate processing resources to these functions. In addition to evidence from electrophysiological and behavioral studies on the role of cortical ACh in sensory information processing and attention, this hypothesis is consistent with proposed functions of the limbic and paralimbic networks in regulating the activity of the basal forebrain cholinergic neurons. Finally, while the proposed hypothesis implies that changes in activity in cortical ACh simultaneously occur throughout the cortex, the selectivity and precision of the functions of cholinergic function is due to its coordinated interactions with the activity of converging sensory or associational inputs. Finally, the dynamic, escalating consequences of alterations in the activity of cortical ACh (hypo- and hyperactivity) on cognitive functions are evaluated.
Similar articles
- Unraveling the attentional functions of cortical cholinergic inputs: interactions between signal-driven and cognitive modulation of signal detection.
Sarter M, Hasselmo ME, Bruno JP, Givens B. Sarter M, et al. Brain Res Brain Res Rev. 2005 Feb;48(1):98-111. doi: 10.1016/j.brainresrev.2004.08.006. Brain Res Brain Res Rev. 2005. PMID: 15708630 Review. - Cognitive functions of cortical ACh: lessons from studies on trans-synaptic modulation of activated efflux.
Sarter MF, Bruno JP. Sarter MF, et al. Trends Neurosci. 1994 Jun;17(6):217-21. doi: 10.1016/0166-2236(94)90001-9. Trends Neurosci. 1994. PMID: 7521080 Review. - Basal forebrain afferent projections modulating cortical acetylcholine, attention, and implications for neuropsychiatric disorders.
Sarter M, Bruno JP, Turchi J. Sarter M, et al. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1999 Jun 29;877:368-82. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1999.tb09277.x. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1999. PMID: 10415659 Review. - Synaptic Release of Acetylcholine Rapidly Suppresses Cortical Activity by Recruiting Muscarinic Receptors in Layer 4.
Dasgupta R, Seibt F, Beierlein M. Dasgupta R, et al. J Neurosci. 2018 Jun 6;38(23):5338-5350. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0566-18.2018. Epub 2018 May 8. J Neurosci. 2018. PMID: 29739869 Free PMC article.
Cited by
- Adenosine inhibits glutamatergic input to basal forebrain cholinergic neurons.
Hawryluk JM, Ferrari LL, Keating SA, Arrigoni E. Hawryluk JM, et al. J Neurophysiol. 2012 May;107(10):2769-81. doi: 10.1152/jn.00528.2011. Epub 2012 Feb 22. J Neurophysiol. 2012. PMID: 22357797 Free PMC article. - "Manganese-induced neurotoxicity: a review of its behavioral consequences and neuroprotective strategies".
Peres TV, Schettinger MR, Chen P, Carvalho F, Avila DS, Bowman AB, Aschner M. Peres TV, et al. BMC Pharmacol Toxicol. 2016 Nov 4;17(1):57. doi: 10.1186/s40360-016-0099-0. BMC Pharmacol Toxicol. 2016. PMID: 27814772 Free PMC article. Review. - Chronic basal forebrain activation improves spatial memory, boosts neurotrophin receptor expression, and lowers BACE1 and Aβ42 levels in the cerebral cortex in mice.
Kumro J, Tripathi A, Lei Y, Sword J, Callahan P, Terry A, Lu XY, Kirov SA, Pillai A, Blake DT. Kumro J, et al. Cereb Cortex. 2023 Jun 8;33(12):7627-7641. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhad066. Cereb Cortex. 2023. PMID: 36939283 Free PMC article. - Alzheimer's Disease as a Membrane Disorder: Spatial Cross-Talk Among Beta-Amyloid Peptides, Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors and Lipid Rafts.
Fabiani C, Antollini SS. Fabiani C, et al. Front Cell Neurosci. 2019 Jul 18;13:309. doi: 10.3389/fncel.2019.00309. eCollection 2019. Front Cell Neurosci. 2019. PMID: 31379503 Free PMC article. Review. - Cellular, molecular, and genetic substrates underlying the impact of nicotine on learning.
Gould TJ, Leach PT. Gould TJ, et al. Neurobiol Learn Mem. 2014 Jan;107:108-32. doi: 10.1016/j.nlm.2013.08.004. Epub 2013 Aug 22. Neurobiol Learn Mem. 2014. PMID: 23973448 Free PMC article. Review.