The cholinergic system has been recognized as playing an important role not only in several forms of dementia besides Alzheimer's Disease, but also in other CNS degenerative and psychiatric disorders. Following on from the success of two previous publications in the cholinergic field - Cholinesterases and Their Inhibitors and Butyrylcholinesterase: Its Function and Inhibitors - Doctor Ezio Giacobini and Professor Giancarlo Pepeu have prepared this comprehensive and timely volume, which will be useful to both clinical and pre-clinical specialists including neurologists, psychiatrists, neuropsychologists, neuropharmacologists and neurophysiologists, molecular neurobiologists and neurobiologists in general.
CONTENTS
1. Milestones in the discovery and understanding of the brain cholinergic system
Alex Karczmar (Chicago, USA)
SECTION I. Neurobiology of the cholinergic neuron
2. Genetic regulation of the cholinergic system
Paul M. Salvaterra (Duarte, California, USA)
3. Trophic factors of the cholinergic neurons
Claudio A Cuello (Montreal, Canada)
SECTION II. Neuroanatomy of the cholinergic system
4. Aging and Alzheimer Disease
Marek-Marsel Mesulam (Chicago, USA)
SECTION III. Neurochemistry of the cholinergic system
5. From MCI to Dementia
Elaine Perry (Newcastle, UK)
SECTION III. Acetilcholine Synthesis, Inactivation and Release
6. Choline acetyltransferase
Rebecca Jane Rylett (London, Canada)
7. Precursors: choline and glucose
K Loeffelholz
8. Pre- and postsynaptic modulation of acetylcholine release
D.D. Rasmusson (Halifax, Canada)
SECTION IV. The cholinesterases
9-10. Molecular pharmacology and toxicological aspects of cholinesterases
Palmer W. Taylor (San Diego, USA)
SECTION V. What have we learned from transgenic mice?
11. Overexpression of acetylcholinesterases
Hermona Soreq (Jerusalem, Israel)
12. Acetylcholinesterase and Butyrylcholinesterase knockouts
Oksana Lockridge (Omaha, USA)
SECTION VI. Brain Acetylcholine Receptors
13. Molecular biology and behavioural role of nicotinic receptors
JP Changeux (Paris, France)
14. The pharmacology of brain nicotinic receptors
Francesco Clementi (Milan, Italy)
15. Brain muscarinic receptors: lessons from knock out mice
Jurgen Wess (Bethesda, USA)
16. Muscarinic agonists and antagonists
Abraham Fisher (Ness-Ziona, Israel)
17. PET studies of nicotinic and muscarinic receptors
Agneta Nordberg (Stockholm, Sweden)
SECTION VII. Roles of the cholinergic system
18. Cholinergic modulation of nervous transmission in the CNS
Mircea Steriade (Quebec, Canada)
19. The contribution of the cholinergic system to neuronal plasticity
Martin Sater (Ann Arbor, MI, USA)
20. The role of the cholinergic system in cognitive processes
Giancarlo Pepeu (Florence, Italy)
SECTION VIII. Therapy
21. Therapeutic applications of cholinesterase inhibitors
Ezio Giacobini (Geneva, Switzerland)
Biography
Ezio Giacobini
