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©2013 Baishideng Publishing Group Co., Limited. All rights reserved.
Roles of cholinergic receptors during attentional modulation of cue detection
Joshua A Burk, Department of Psychology, College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA 23187, United States
Author contributions: Burk JA solely contributed to this paper.
Supported by AG030646 and the Jeffress Memorial Trust
Correspondence to: Joshua A Burk, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, College of William and Mary, 540 Landrum Drive PO Box 8795, Williamsburg, VA 23187, United States. jabur2@wm.edu
Telephone: +1-757-2213882 Fax: +1-757-2213896
Received: June 9, 2013
Revised: August 17, 2013
Accepted: September 13, 2013
Published online: December 9, 2013
Revised: August 17, 2013
Accepted: September 13, 2013
Published online: December 9, 2013
Core Tip
Core tip: The corticopetal cholinergic system is critical for normal attentional processing. Disruption of this system is associated with cognitive deficits in several disorders. Thus, restoration of cortical cholinergic neurotransmission represents a reasonable target for treating some cognitive disorders. Evidence is presented that the muscarinic muscarinic-1 receptor and nicotinic receptor subtypes appear to be key targets for future investigations related to treating cognitive disorders. Future research into muscarinic-nicotinic receptor interactions, along with the role of second messenger systems, is needed to further develop appropriate strategies for restoring cortical cholinergic neurotransmission.