Abstract
This review contrasts the neuromodulatory influences of acetylcholine (ACh) on the relatively conserved primary visual cortex (V1), compared to the newly evolved dorsolateral prefrontal association cortex (dlPFC). ACh is critical both for proper circuit development and organization, and for optimal functioning of mature systems in both cortical regions. ACh acts through both nicotinic and muscarinic receptors, which show very different expression profiles in V1 vs. dlPFC, and differing effects on neuronal firing. Cholinergic effects mediate attentional influences in V1, enhancing representation of incoming sensory stimuli. In dlPFC ACh plays a permissive role for network communication. ACh receptor expression and ACh actions in higher visual areas have an intermediate profile between V1 and dlPFC. This changing role of ACh modulation across association cortices may help to illuminate the particular susceptibility of PFC in cognitive disorders, and provide therapeutic targets to strengthen cognition.
Highlights
Acetylcholine (ACh) plays many neuromodulatory roles in the developing and mature brain, including guiding neuronal development, determining arousal state, and modifying cortical responses to environmental events
This review will provide a brief summary of cholinergic anatomy and development, and contrast the roles of ACh in the mature primary visual cortex (V1) with those in visual association cortices, and in the newly evolved dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the site of working memory circuits
We will discuss evidence for disruptions in normal cholinergic processing contributing to cognitive disorders, and how the organization and signaling mechanisms of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) circuits may increase their sensitivity to cholinergic disruption
Summary
Acetylcholine (ACh) plays many neuromodulatory roles in the developing and mature brain, including guiding neuronal development, determining arousal state, and modifying cortical responses to environmental events. This review will provide a brief summary of cholinergic anatomy and development, and contrast the roles of ACh in the mature primary visual cortex (V1) with those in visual association cortices, and in the newly evolved dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), the site of working memory circuits. We will discuss evidence for disruptions in normal cholinergic processing contributing to cognitive disorders, and how the organization and signaling mechanisms of dlPFC circuits may increase their sensitivity to cholinergic disruption
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