Department of Biology, University of Bologna, Via Selmi 3, 40126 Bologna, Italy.
Behav Brain Res. 2011 Aug 10;221(2):334-40. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2009.12.044. Epub 2010 Jan 6.
The cholinergic hypothesis of cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease has been for decades a "polar star" for studies on dementia and neurodegenerative diseases. Aim of the present article is to briefly summarize its birth and its evolution throughout years and discoveries. Putting the cholinergic hypothesis in an historical perspective, allows to appreciate the enormous amount of experimental and clinical research that it has stimulated over years and the impressive extent of knowledge generated by this research. While some of the assumptions at the basis of its original formulation are disputable in the light of recent developments, the cholinergic hypothesis has, however, constituted an invaluable stimulus to better understand not only the anatomy and the biochemistry of the cholinergic systems of brain connections but also its developmental biology, its complex relationships with trophic factors, its role in cognitive functions. Thus, rather than being consigned to history, the cholinergic hypothesis will likely contribute to further understanding dementia and neurodegenerative diseases and will hopefully be integrated in novel therapies and treatments.
几十年来，胆碱能假说一直是痴呆症和神经退行性疾病研究的“北极星”。本文旨在简要总结其诞生及其多年来的发展和发现。从历史的角度来看胆碱能假说，可以理解它在多年来激发了大量的实验和临床研究，以及这些研究产生的令人印象深刻的知识范围。尽管其最初形成的一些假设在最近的发展中存在争议，但胆碱能假说为更好地理解不仅是大脑连接的胆碱能系统的解剖学和生物化学，还有其发育生物学、与营养因子的复杂关系、在认知功能中的作用，提供了宝贵的启示。因此，胆碱能假说不仅可能被历史所铭记，而且可能有助于进一步理解痴呆症和神经退行性疾病，并有望被整合到新的治疗方法中。
