McGehee Daniel S
Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care, Committee on Neurobiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
Sci STKE. 2007 Aug 14;2007(399):pe44. doi: 10.1126/stke.3992007pe44.
Nicotinic receptor activation enhances working memory and attention. The prefrontal cortex is a key brain area involved in working memory, and plasticity of excitatory synaptic transmission within the cortex is likely an important cellular mechanism of memory. A recent study has explored the cellular and synaptic basis of nicotine's effects on excitability within the prefrontal cortex. The findings suggest that nicotine enhances inhibitory synaptic inputs to layer V pyramidal cells, which suppresses induction of long-term potentiation (LTP). This inhibitory effect can be overcome by stimulating the pyramidal cells in bursts, which suggests a modification in the signal-to-noise ratio for synaptic input. Thus, the impact of strong stimuli on working memory would be enhanced when combined with nicotinic receptor activity. These findings may lead to novel and more effective treatments for memory disorders.
烟碱型受体激活可增强工作记忆和注意力。前额叶皮层是参与工作记忆的关键脑区，皮层内兴奋性突触传递的可塑性可能是记忆的重要细胞机制。最近一项研究探讨了尼古丁对前额叶皮层兴奋性影响的细胞和突触基础。研究结果表明，尼古丁增强了对V层锥体细胞的抑制性突触输入，从而抑制了长时程增强（LTP）的诱导。通过爆发性刺激锥体细胞可以克服这种抑制作用，这表明突触输入的信噪比发生了改变。因此，当与烟碱型受体活性相结合时，强刺激对工作记忆的影响会增强。这些发现可能会带来针对记忆障碍的新颖且更有效的治疗方法。
