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Chen X, Zhang Y. A review of the neurotransmitter system associated with cognitive function of the cerebellum in Parkinson's disease. Neural Regen Res 2024; 19:324-330. [PMID: 37488885 PMCID: PMC10503617 DOI: 10.4103/1673-5374.379042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2022] [Revised: 03/30/2023] [Accepted: 05/08/2023] [Indexed: 07/26/2023] Open
Abstract
The dichotomized brain system is a concept that was generalized from the 'dual syndrome hypothesis' to explain the heterogeneity of cognitive impairment, in which anterior and posterior brain systems are independent but partially overlap. The dopaminergic system acts on the anterior brain and is responsible for executive function, working memory, and planning. In contrast, the cholinergic system acts on the posterior brain and is responsible for semantic fluency and visuospatial function. Evidence from dopaminergic/cholinergic imaging or functional neuroimaging has shed significant insight relating to the involvement of the cerebellum in the cognitive process of patients with Parkinson's disease. Previous research has reported evidence that the cerebellum receives both dopaminergic and cholinergic projections. However, whether these two neurotransmitter systems are associated with cognitive function has yet to be fully elucidated. Furthermore, the precise role of the cerebellum in patients with Parkinson's disease and cognitive impairment remains unclear. Therefore, in this review, we summarize the cerebellar dopaminergic and cholinergic projections and their relationships with cognition, as reported by previous studies, and investigated the role of the cerebellum in patients with Parkinson's disease and cognitive impairment, as determined by functional neuroimaging. Our findings will help us to understand the role of the cerebellum in the mechanisms underlying cognitive impairment in Parkinson's disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xi Chen
- Department of Neurology, Guangdong Neuroscience Institute, Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital (Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences), Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China
- Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong Province, China
| | - Yuhu Zhang
- Department of Neurology, Guangdong Neuroscience Institute, Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital (Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences), Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China
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Bohnen NI, Yarnall AJ, Weil RS, Moro E, Moehle MS, Borghammer P, Bedard MA, Albin RL. Cholinergic system changes in Parkinson's disease: emerging therapeutic approaches. Lancet Neurol 2022; 21:381-392. [PMID: 35131038 PMCID: PMC8985079 DOI: 10.1016/s1474-4422(21)00377-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 31.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2021] [Revised: 09/30/2021] [Accepted: 10/20/2021] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
In patients with Parkinson's disease, heterogeneous cholinergic system changes can occur in different brain regions. These changes correlate with a range of clinical features, both motor and non-motor, that are refractory to dopaminergic therapy, and can be conceptualised within a systems-level framework in which nodal deficits can produce circuit dysfunctions. The topographies of cholinergic changes overlap with neural circuitries involved in sleep and cognitive, motor, visuo-auditory perceptual, and autonomic functions. Cholinergic deficits within cognition network hubs predict cognitive deficits better than do total brain cholinergic changes. Postural instability and gait difficulties are associated with cholinergic system changes in thalamic, caudate, limbic, neocortical, and cerebellar nodes. Cholinergic system deficits can involve also peripheral organs. Hypercholinergic activity of mesopontine cholinergic neurons in people with isolated rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behaviour disorder, as well as in the hippocampi of cognitively normal patients with Parkinson's disease, suggests early compensation during the prodromal and early stages of Parkinson's disease. Novel pharmacological and neurostimulation approaches could target the cholinergic system to treat motor and non-motor features of Parkinson's disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolaas I Bohnen
- Department of Radiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Department of Neurology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Neurology Service, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; VA Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Ann Arbor VAMC, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
| | - Alison J Yarnall
- Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
| | - Rimona S Weil
- Dementia Research Centre, University College London, London, UK
| | - Elena Moro
- Division of Neurology, CHU of Grenoble, Grenoble, France; Grenoble Alpes University, and INSERM u1216, Grenoble, France
| | - Mark S Moehle
- Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Per Borghammer
- Department of Nuclear Medicine and PET, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark; Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Marc-André Bedard
- Cognitive Pharmacology Research Unit, UQAM, Montreal, QC, Canada; McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, Montreal, QC, Canada; Research Centre for Studies in Aging, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada; Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Roger L Albin
- VA Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Department of Neurology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
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Cholinergic systems, attentional-motor integration, and cognitive control in Parkinson's disease. PROGRESS IN BRAIN RESEARCH 2022; 269:345-371. [PMID: 35248201 PMCID: PMC8957710 DOI: 10.1016/bs.pbr.2022.01.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Dysfunction and degeneration of CNS cholinergic systems is a significant component of multi-system pathology in Parkinson's disease (PD). We review the basic architecture of human CNS cholinergic systems and the tools available for studying changes in human cholinergic systems. Earlier post-mortem studies implicated abnormalities of basal forebrain corticopetal cholinergic (BFCC) and pedunculopontine-laterodorsal tegmental (PPN-LDT) cholinergic projections in cognitive deficits and gait-balance deficits, respectively. Recent application of imaging methods, particularly molecular imaging, allowed more sophisticated correlation of clinical features with regional cholinergic deficits. BFCC projection deficits correlate with general and domain specific cognitive deficits, particularly for attentional and executive functions. Detailed analyses suggest that cholinergic deficits within the salience and cingulo-opercular task control networks, including both neocortical, thalamic, and striatal nodes, are a significant component of cognitive deficits in non-demented PD subjects. Both BFCC and PPN-LDT cholinergic projection systems, and striatal cholinergic interneuron (SChI), abnormalities are implicated in PD gait-balance disorders. In the context of experimental studies, these results indicate that disrupted attentional functions of BFCC and PPN-LDT cholinergic systems underlie impaired gait-balance functions. SChI dysfunction likely impairs intra-striatal integration of attentional and motor information. Thalamic and entorhinal cortex cholinergic deficits may impair multi-sensory integration. Overt degeneration of CNS systems may be preceded by increased activity of cholinergic neurons compensating for nigrostriatal dopaminergic deficits. Subsequent dysfunction and degeneration of cholinergic systems unmasks and exacerbates functional deficits secondary to dopaminergic denervation. Research on CNS cholinergic systems dysfunctions in PD requires a systems-level approach to understanding PD pathophysiology.
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