쥐 해마에서 시냅스 전달의 콜린성 조율

초록

The hippocampus is a critical structure that has been implicated in the processes of memory acquisition and retention. Administration of cholinergic receptor antagonists or deafferentiation of cholinergic input to the hippocampus both result in a memory deficits. Loss of cholinergic function in the hippocampus arising from degeneration or atrophy of basal forebrain cholinergic neurons is a consistent pathological feature of the Alzheimer brain, together with the presence of neuritic plaques composed of amyloid beta-peptide. Therefore, current pharmacological strategies to attenuate the impaired memory ability observed in Alzheimer disease (AD) patients, are targeted towards the supplementation of acetylcholine (ACh) level in synaptic sites using cholinomimetics, including acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors, cholinergic agonists, and ACh precursors. For example, tacrine, an AChE inhibitor, is known to slow the decline of cognitive function and memory, and became widely marketed for the loss of memory and intellectual decline of AD patients.