Blockade of muscarinic receptors impairs the retrieval of well-trained memory.

ABSTRACT: Acetylcholine (ACh) is known to play an important role in memory functions, and its deficit has been proposed to cause the cognitive decline associated with advanced age and Alzheimer's disease (the cholinergic hypothesis). Although many studies have tested the cholinergic hypothesis for recently acquired memory, only a few have investigated the role of ACh in the retrieval process of well-trained cognitive memory, which describes the memory established from repetition and daily routine. To examine this point, we trained rats to perform a two-alternative forced-choice visual detection task. Each trial was started by having the rats pull upward a central-lever, which triggered the presentation of a visual stimulus to the right or left side of the display monitor, and then pulling upward a s

SUBMITTER: Soma S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3986532 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature