Abstract
Within the basal forebrain is a population of magnocellular neurons that provides cholinergic innervation to the hippocampus, olfactory bulb, amygdala and cortex. Extensive lesion and pharmacological studies in animals and humans support the hypothesis that these basal forebrain cholinergic neurons, in particular the medial septal nucleus (MSN) and the vertical nucleus of the diagonal band of Broca (DBv), and the nucleus basalis (NB), which project to the hippocampus and neocortex, respectively, have an important role in memory function. Memory loss associated with Alzheimer’s disease correlates highly with degeneration of NB neurons and with reduction of cortical acetylcholinesterase and choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) activities (Whitehouse et al., 1982; Bartus et al., 1985). In addition, lesions of MSN/DBv and/or NB in rodents, or selective blockade of cholinergic activity by muscarinic receptor antagonists in either animal or human subjects, elicit learning and memory deficits (Davies, 1985; Meck et al., 1987).
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© 1991 Plenum Press, New York
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Loy, R., Heyer, D., Williams, C.L., Meck, W.H. (1991). Choline-Induced Spatial Memory Facilitation Correlates with Altered Distribution and Morphology of Septal Neurons. In: Napier, T.C., Kalivas, P.W., Hanin, I. (eds) The Basal Forebrain. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 295. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-0145-6_21
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