Reginald L. Dean

TL;DR: Biochemical, electrophysiological, and pharmacological evidence supporting a role for cholinergic dysfunction in age-related memory disturbances is critically reviewed and an attempt has been made to identify pseudoissues, resolve certain controversies, and clarify misconceptions that have occurred in the literature.

TL;DR: The Cholinergic hypothesis asserts that significant, functional disturbances in cholinergic activity occur in the brains of aged and especially demented patients, these disturbances play an important role in the memory loss and related cognitive problems associated with old age and dementia, and proper enhancement or restoration of cholinergy function may significantly reduce the severity of the cognitive loss.

TL;DR: The nucleus basalis magnocellularis, a group of cholinesterase-reactive neurons in the ventromedial corner of the globus pallidus of the rat, exhibited a severe deficit in the retention of a passive avoidance response, and the development of animal models for disorders involving cortical cholinergic deficiencies, including senile dementia of the Alzheimer's type is discussed.

TL;DR: Age related alterations in mnemonic ability and in the functional status of muscarinic receptors were evaluated and compared to biochemical measures of pre and post-synaptic cholinergic functioning, suggesting that specific mus carinic receptor impairments may play a critical role in the memory disturbances associated with old age.