Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Department of Neuropsychology and Psychopharmacology, European Graduate School of Neuroscience, Maastricht University, PO Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Behav Brain Res. 2011 Aug 10;221(2):430-42. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2010.11.033. Epub 2010 Nov 23.
Historically, ACh has been implicated in learning and short-term memory functions. However, more recent studies have provided support for a role of cortical ACh in attentional effort, orienting and the detection of behavioral significant stimuli. The current review article summarizes studies in animals and humans which have investigated the role of ACh in attention and cognition. An attempt has been made to differentiate between brain regions involved in attentional processes versus those important for other cognitive functions. To this purpose, various experimental methods and interventions were used. Animal behavioral studies have injected the selective immunotoxin IgG-saporin to induce specific cholinergic lesions, employed electrochemical techniques such as microdialysis, or have administered cholinergic compounds into discrete parts of the brain. Human studies that give some indication on the link between central cholinergic signaling and cognition are obviously confined to less invasive, imaging methods such as fMRI. The brain areas that are deemed most important for intact attentional processing in both animals and humans appear to be the (pre)frontal, parietal and somatosensory (especially visual) regions, where ACh plays a vital role in the top-down control of attentional orienting and stimulus discrimination. In contrast, cholinergic signaling in the septohippocampal system is suggested to be involved in memory processes. Thus, it appears that the role of ACh in cognition is different per brain region and between nicotinic versus muscarinic receptor subtypes.
从历史上看，ACh 被认为与学习和短期记忆功能有关。然而，最近的研究为皮质 ACh 在注意力努力、定向和检测行为显著刺激方面的作用提供了支持。本文综述了在动物和人类中研究 ACh 在注意力和认知中的作用的研究。本文试图区分参与注意力过程的脑区与对其他认知功能重要的脑区。为此，使用了各种实验方法和干预措施。动物行为研究通过注射选择性免疫毒素 IgG-saporin 诱导特定的胆碱能损伤，使用电化学技术（如微透析），或向大脑的离散部位给予胆碱能化合物。人类研究在一定程度上表明中枢胆碱能信号与认知之间的联系，显然仅限于侵入性较小的成像方法，如 fMRI。在动物和人类中，被认为对完整的注意力处理最重要的大脑区域似乎是（前）额叶、顶叶和躯体感觉（特别是视觉）区域，其中 ACh 在注意力定向和刺激辨别的自上而下控制中起着至关重要的作用。相比之下，隔核海马系统中的胆碱能信号传递被认为与记忆过程有关。因此，ACh 在认知中的作用似乎因脑区而异，并且在烟碱型和毒蕈碱型受体亚型之间也不同。
