Abstract
The ascending cholinergic system of the central nervous system plays an important role in cognitive processing and memory formation of the brain. This was suggested by pharmacological studies of the CNS effects of anticholinergic drugs (Drachman et Leavitt 1974; Peters and Levin 1979; Drachman and Sahakian 1980; Summers et al. 1981). Another line of evidence indicating the involvement of cholinergic mechanisms in cognitive processing arises from the cholinergic hypothesis of geriatric memory dysfunction (Bowen et al. 1976; Bartus et al. 1982). In patients with dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT), various markers of central cholinergic activity are reduced and there is a correlation between the degree of dementia and the reduction of the cholinergic marker cholinacetyltransferase. Pharmacological manipulations to increase acetylcholine availability may ameliorate certain cognitive deficits. However, the clinical relevance of cholinomimetics is limited. Most cholinergic drugs have a plasma half-life of only a few minutes, lack CNS specificity, cause considerable side-effects, and have a narrow therapeutic range. Physostigmine, a reversible inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase, is capable of improving cognitive processing in a dose-dependent manner (Christie et al. 1981; Davis and Mohs 1982). Physostigmine may be a valuable reference substance for evaluating the effects of drugs for the treatment of senile DAT (Mohs and Davis 1987). Brain mapping has been proven to be a good method for evaluating the actions of drugs on the brain (Maurer and Dierks 1987; Ihl et al. 1989)
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Ihl, R., Frölich, L., Dierks, T., Maurer, K. (1989). Influence of Physostigmine on Cognitive Processing of the Brain. In: Başar, E., Bullock, T.H. (eds) Brain Dynamics. Springer Series in Brain Dynamics, vol 2. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-74557-7_34
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-74557-7_34
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