Task demands dissociate the effects of muscarinic M1 receptor blockade and protein kinase C inhibition on attentional performance in rats

Neuropharmacology of attention

Early philosophers and psychologists defined and began to describe attention. Beginning in the 1950's, numerous models of attention were developed. This corresponded with an increased understanding of pharmacological approaches to manipulate neurotransmitter systems. The present review focuses on the knowledge that has been gained about these neurotransmitter systems with respect to attentional processing, with emphasis on the functions mediated within the medial prefrontal cortex. Additionally, the use of pharmacotherapies to treat psychiatric conditions characterized by attentional dysfunction are discussed. Future directions include developing a more comprehensive understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying attentional processing and novel pharmacotherapeutic targets for conditions characterized by aberrant attentional processing.

Roles of cholinergic receptors during attentional modulation of cue detection

Basal forebrain corticopetal cholinergic neurons are known to be necessary for normal attentional processing. Alterations of cholinergic system functioning have been associated with several neuropsychiatric diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease and schizophrenia, in which attentional dysfunction is thought to be a key contributing factor. Loss of cortical cholinergic inputs impairs performance in attention-demanding tasks. Moreover, measures of acetylcholine with microdialysis and, more recently, of choline with enzyme-coated microelectrodes have begun to elucidate the precise cognitive demands that activate the cholinergic system on distinct time scales. However, the receptor actions following acetylcholine release under attentionally-challenging conditions are only beginning to be understood. The present review is designed to summarize the evidence regarding the actions of acetylcholine at muscarinic and nicotinic receptors under cognitively challenging conditions in order to evaluate the functions mediated by these two different cholinergic receptor classes. Moreover, evidence that supports beneficial effects of muscarinic muscarinic-1 receptor agonists and selective nicotinic receptor subtype agonists for cognitive processing will be discussed. Finally, some challenges and limitations of targeting the cholinergic system for treating cognitive deficits along with future research directions will be mentioned. In conclusion, multiple aspects of cholinergic neurotransmission must be considered when attempting to restore function of this neuromodulatory system.

Monitoring cholinergic activity during attentional performance in mice heterozygous for the choline transporter: a model of cholinergic capacity limits

Reductions in the capacity of the human choline transporter (SLC5A7, CHT) have been hypothesized to diminish cortical cholinergic neurotransmission, leading to risk for cognitive and mood disorders. To determine the acetylcholine (ACh) release capacity of cortical cholinergic projections in a mouse model of cholinergic hypofunction, the CHT+/- mouse, we assessed extracellular ACh levels while mice performed an operant sustained attention task (SAT). We found that whereas SAT-performance-associated increases in extracellular ACh levels of CHT+/- mice were significantly attenuated relative to wildtype littermates, performance on the SAT was normal. Tetrodotoxin-induced blockade of neuronal excitability reduced both dialysate ACh levels and SAT performance similarly in both genotypes. Likewise, lesions of cholinergic neurons abolished SAT performance in both genotypes. However, cholinergic activation remained more vulnerable to the reverse-dialyzed muscarinic antagonist atropine in CHT+/- mice. Additionally, CHT+/- mice displayed greater SAT-disrupting effects of reverse dialysis of the nAChR antagonist mecamylamine. Receptor binding assays revealed a higher density of α4β2* nAChRs in the cortex of CHT+/- mice compared to controls. These findings reveal compensatory mechanisms that, in the context of moderate cognitive challenges, can overcome the performance deficits expected from the significantly reduced ACh capacity of CHT+/- cholinergic terminals. Further analyses of molecular and functional compensations in the CHT+/- model may provide insights into both risk and resiliency factors involved in cognitive and mood disorders.

Repeated visual distracter exposure enhances new discrimination learning and sustained attention task performance in rats

Repeated exposure to distraction requires attentional effort to restore task performance. However, the impact of repeated distracter exposure and exertion of attentional effort on new learning has not been examined. In the present experiment, rats were trained in a two-lever sustained attention task. Rats then continued to train, for 12 sessions, in this task either with or without a flashing houselight distracter throughout the session. The flashing houselight transiently decreased attentional performance. Trials that were part of a new light-location discrimination task were then interspersed within the sustained attention task sessions. The frequency of these new light-location discrimination trials increased with additional training. Rats exposed to the distracter exhibited higher accuracy levels during some blocks of sessions in the new light-location discrimination task trials and in the remaining sustained attention task trials compared to rats that were not exposed to the distracter. The effects of repeated distracter exposure are interpreted in the context of an "occasion-setting" model that has been used to describe performance in this task.