Advances in the study of cholinergic circuits in the central nervous system

Abstract

Abstract Objective Further understanding of the function and regulatory mechanism of cholinergic neural circuits and related neurodegenerative diseases. Methods This review summarized the research progress of the central cholinergic nervous system, especially for the cholinergic circuit of the medial septal nucleus‐hippocampus, vertical branch of diagonal band‐hippocampus, basal nucleus of Meynert‐cerebral cortex cholinergic loop, amygdala, pedunculopontine nucleus, and striatum‐related cholinergic loops. Results The extensive and complex fiber projection of cholinergic neurons form the cholinergic neural circuits, which regulate several nuclei in the brain through neurotransmission and participate in learning and memory, attention, emotion, movement, etc. The loss of cholinergic neurotransmitters, the reduction, loss, and degeneration of cholinergic neurons or abnormal theta oscillations and cholinergic neural circuits can induce cognitive disorders such as AD, PD, PDD, and DLB. Interpretation The projection and function of cholinergic fibers in some nuclei and the precise regulatory mechanisms of cholinergic neural circuits in the brain remain unclear. Further investigation of cholinergic fiber projections in various brain regions and the underlying mechanisms of the neural circuits are expected to open up new avenues for the prevention and treatment of senile neurodegenerative diseases.