Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Neuronal mechanisms of the attentional dysfunctions in senile dementia and schizophrenia: two sides of the same coin?

  • Reviews
  • Published:
Psychopharmacology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Deficits in early stages of information processing, specifically the inability to “disattend” irrelevant stimuli and to selectively allocate processing resources (i.e., hyperattention), have been associated with the development of psychotic symptoms. Opposite deficits, i.e., the failure to attend and select stimuli, and to divide attention (i.e., hypoattention), represent a major variable in the development of dementia. The hypothesis that hyperattention and hypoattention are mediated via cortical cholinergic hyperactivity and hypoactivity, respectively, is discussed. Several lines of evidence support the role of cholinergic hyperactivity in the development of psychotic symptoms, including the therapeutic effects of anticholinergic drugs in schizophrenic patients, the psychotic effects of chronic exposure to irreversible cholinesterase inhibitors, and the worsening of psychotic symptoms as a result of the treatment with cholinomimetic compounds. The potent impairments of attentional abilities as a result of the administration of muscarinic antagonists in intact subjects, and the attentional effects of cholinomimetic compounds in demented patients are two examples of the evidence that supports the role of cholinergic hypofunction in the cognitive impairments of dementia. A neuronal model of dopamine-GABAergic modulation of cortical acetylcholine is proposed on the basis of evidence indicating that nucleus accumbens dopamine, via a GABAergic pathway to the substantia innominata of the basal forebrain, modulates cortical acetylcholine release. The available evidence confirms several predictions derived from this model, including the dopaminergic regulation of cortical acetylcholine (ACh) release, the bidirectional modulation of this release by benzodiazepine receptor (BZR) agonists and inverse agonists, and the antipsychotic effects of BZR agonists. Bidirectional deviations in the activity of cortical cholinergic inputs are hypothesized to represent a major neuronal substrate of the attentional dysfunctions associated with, or even underlying, the development of psychotic symptoms and dementia.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Andrade R (1991) Cell excitation enhances muscarinic cholinergic responses in rat association cortex. Brain Res 548:81–93

    Google Scholar 

  • Andres K, Brenner HD (1989) Coping with attentional disorders as a systemic process in schizophrenic patients. Br J Psychiatry 155[suppl. 5]:57–62

    Google Scholar 

  • Anscombe R (1987) The disorder of consciousness in schizophrenia. Schizophr Bull 13:314–260

    Google Scholar 

  • Arndt S, Alliger RJ, Andreasen NC (1991) The distinction of positive and negative symptoms. The failure of a two-dimensional model. Br J Psychiatry 158:317–322

    Google Scholar 

  • Beckmann H, Haas J (1980) High dose diazepam in schizophrenia. Psychopharmacology 71:79–82

    Google Scholar 

  • Bilder RM, Turkel E, Lipschitz-Broch L, Lieberman JA (1992) Antipsychotic medication effects on neuropsychological functions. Psychopharmacol Bull 28:353–366

    Google Scholar 

  • Block RI, De Voe M, Stanley B, Stanley M, Pomara N (1985) Memory performance in individuals with primary degenerative dementia: its similarity to diazepam-induced impairments. Exp Aging Res 11:151–155

    Google Scholar 

  • Bowers MB, Goodman E, Sim VM (1964) Some behavioral changes in man following anticholinesterase administration. J Nerv Ment Dis 138:383–389

    Google Scholar 

  • Braff DL, Grillon C, Geyer MA (1992) Gating and habituation of the startle reflex in schizophrenic patients. Arch Gen Psychiatry 49:206–215

    Google Scholar 

  • Brockington I (1992) Schizophrenia: yesterday's concept. Eur Psychiatry 7:203–207

    Google Scholar 

  • Broks P, Preston GC, Traub M, Poppleton P, Ward C, Stahl SM (1988) Modeling dementia: effects of scopolamine on memory and attention. Neuropsychology 26:685–700

    Google Scholar 

  • Bruno JP, Moore H, Dudchenko P, Sarter M (1992) Modulation of frontal cortical acetylcholine release by benzodiazepine receptor ligands: age-dependent effects and behavioral correlates. In: Meyer EM, Crews FT, Simpkins JW (eds) Treatment of dementias: a new generation of progress. Plenum Press, New York, pp 277–298

    Google Scholar 

  • Bruno JP, Moore H, Sarter M (1993) FG 7142, a negative modulator at the GABAA/benzodiazepine receptor, increases cortical acetylcholine efflux: interactions with dopamine receptor ligands. Soc Neurosci Abstr 19:128.11

    Google Scholar 

  • Buzsaki G, Bickford RG, Ponomareff G, Thal LJ, Mandel R, Gage FH (1988) Nucleus basalis and thalamic control of neocortical activity in the freely moving rat. J Neurosci 8:4007–4026

    Google Scholar 

  • Callaway E (1984) Human information-processing: some effects of methylphenidate, age and scopolamine. Biol Psychiatry 19:649–662

    Google Scholar 

  • Callaway E, Halliday R, Naylor H, Schechter G (1985) Effects of scopolamine on human stimulus evaluation. Psychopharmacology 85:133–138

    Google Scholar 

  • Casamenti F, Deffenu G, Abbamondi L, Pepeu G (1986) Changes in cortical acetylcholine output induced by modulation of the nucleus basalis. Brain Res Bull 16:689–695

    Google Scholar 

  • Celesia GG, Jaspers HH (1966) Acetylcholine released from cerebral cortex in relation to state of activation. Neurology 16:1053–1063

    Google Scholar 

  • Christensen H, Maltby N, Jorm AF, Creasey H, Broe GA (1992) Cholinergic “blockade” as a model of the cognitive deficits in Alzheimer's disease. Brain 115:1681–1699

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen JD, Servan-Schreiber D (1993) A theory of dopamine function and its role in cognitive deficits in schizophrenia. Schizophr Bull 19:85–104

    Google Scholar 

  • Cowan N (1988) Evolving conceptions of memory storage, selective attention, and their mutual constraints within the human information-processing system. Psychol Bull 104:163–191

    Google Scholar 

  • Curran HV (1991a) Antianxiety treatments and human memory. In: Briley M, File SE (eds) New concepts in anxiety. CRC Press, Boca Raton, pp 395–405

    Google Scholar 

  • Curran HV (1991b) Benzodiazepines, memory and mood: a review. Psychopharmacology 105:1–8

    Google Scholar 

  • Curran VA, Schifano F, Lader M (1991) Models of memory dysfunction? A comparison of the effects of scopolamine and lorazepam on memory, psychomotor performance and mood. Psychopharmacology 103:83–90

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis KL, Berger PA, Hollister LE, Barchas JD (1979) Cholinergic involvement in mental disorders. Life Sci 22:1865–1872

    Google Scholar 

  • Day J, Fibiger HC (1992) Dopaminergic regulation of cortical acetylcholine release. Synapse 12:281–286

    Google Scholar 

  • Delacour J, Houcine O, Costa JC (1990) Evidence for a cholinergic mechanism of “learned” changes in the responses of barrel field neurons of the awake and undrugged rat. Neuroscience 34:1–8

    Google Scholar 

  • Della Sala S, Laiacona M, Spinnler H, Ubezio C (1992) A cancellation test: its reliability in assessing attentional deficits in Alzheimer's disease. Psychol Med 22:895–901

    Google Scholar 

  • Devanand DP, Sackheim HA, Brown RP, Mayeux R (1989) A pilot study of haloperidol treatment of psychosis and behavioral disturbance in Alzheimer's disease. Arch Neurol 46:854–857

    Google Scholar 

  • Donoghue JP, Carroll KL (1987) Cholinergic modulation of sensory processes in rat primary somatic sensory cortex. Brain Res 408:367–371

    Google Scholar 

  • Dorow R, Horowski R, Paschelke R, Amin M, Braestrup C (1983) Severe anxiety induced by FG 7142, a β-carboline ligand for benzodiazepine receptors. Lancet 8:98–99

    Google Scholar 

  • Drachman DA, Leavitt J (1974) Human memory and the cholinergic system: a relationship to aging? Arch Neurol 30:113–121

    Google Scholar 

  • Drachman DA, Sahakian BJ (1979) Effects of cholinergic agents on human learning and memory. In: Barbeau A, Growdon JH, Wurtman RJ (eds) Nutrition and the brain. Raven, New York, pp 351–367

    Google Scholar 

  • Drachman DA, Glosser G, Fleming P (1982) Memory decline in the aged: treatment with lecithin and physostigmine. Neurology 32:944–950

    Google Scholar 

  • Dudchenko P, Sarter M (1992) Failure of chlordiazepoxide to reproduce the behavioral effects of muscimol administered into the basal forebrain. Behav Brain Res 47:202–205

    Google Scholar 

  • Dudchenko P, Paul B, Sarter M (1992) Dissociation between the effects of benzodiazepine receptor agonists on behavioral vigilance and responsivity. Psychopharmacology 109:203–211

    Google Scholar 

  • Duka T, Stephens DN, Krause W, Dorow E (1987) Human studies on the benzodiazepine receptor antagonist β-carboline ZK 93 426: preliminary observations on psychotropic activity. Psychopharmacology 93:421–427

    Google Scholar 

  • Duka T, Redemann B, Mager T, Voet B (1993) Scopolamine as a pharmacological tool to study memory processes: application of a cognitive enhancer. Soc Neurosci Abstr 19:507.5

    Google Scholar 

  • Dunne MP, Hartley LR (1986) Scopolamine and the control of attention in humans. Psychopharmacology 89:94–97

    Google Scholar 

  • Erlenmeyer-Kimling L, Cornblatt BA, Rock D, Roberts S, Bell M, West A (1993) The New York high-risk project: anhedonia, attentional deviance, and psychopathology. Schizophr Bull 19:141–153

    Google Scholar 

  • Evarts EV (1957) A review of the neurophysiological effects of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and other psychotomimetic agents. Ann NY Acad Sci 66:479–495

    Google Scholar 

  • Fibiger HC (1991) Cholinergic mechanisms in learning, memory and dementia: a review of recent evidence. Trends Neurosci 14:220–223

    Google Scholar 

  • Filoteo JV, Delis DC, Massman PJ, Demadura T, Butters N, Salmon DP (1992) Directed and divided attention in Alzheimer's disease: impairment in shifting of attention to global and local stimuli. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol 14:871–883

    Google Scholar 

  • Fisch RZ (1987) Trihexyphenidyl abuse: therapeutic implication for negative symptoms of schizophrenia? Acta Psychiatr Scand 75:91–94

    Google Scholar 

  • Foldi NS, Jutagir R, Davidoff D, Gould T (1992) Selective attention skills in Alzheimer's disease: performance on graded cancellation tests varying in density and complexity. J Gerontol 47:P146-P153

    Google Scholar 

  • Förstl H, Sahakian B (1993) Thalamic radiodensity and cognitive performance in mild and moderate dementia of the Alzheimer's type. J Psychiatr Neurosci 18:33–37

    Google Scholar 

  • Francis P, Palmer A, Sims N, Bowen D, Davison A, Esiri M, Neary D, Snowdon J, Wilcock G (1985) Neurochemical studies of early onset Alzheimer's disease. N Engl J Med 313:7–11

    Google Scholar 

  • Freed DM, Corkin S, Growdon JH, Nissen MJ (1988) Selective attention in Alzheimer's disease: CSF correlates of behavioral impairments. Neuropsychology 26:895–902

    Google Scholar 

  • Freedman R, Waldo M, Bickford-Wimer, Nagamoto H (1991) Elementary neuronal dysfunctions in schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Res 4:233–243

    Google Scholar 

  • Frith C (1991) In what context is latent inhibition relevant for the symptoms of schizophrenia? Behav Brain Sci 14:28–29

    Google Scholar 

  • Gentil V, Gorenstein C, Camargo C, Singer J (1989) Effects of flunitrazepam on memory and their reversal by two antagonists. J Clin Psychopharmacol 9:191–197

    Google Scholar 

  • Gershon S, Shaw FH (1961) Psychiatric sequelae of chronic exposure to organophosphorus insecticides. Lancet 1:1371–1374

    Google Scholar 

  • Gordon B, Carson K (1990) The basis for choice reaction time slowing in Alzheimer's disease. Brain Cogn 13:148–166

    Google Scholar 

  • Grady CL, Grimes AM, Patronas NP, Sunderland T, Foster NL, Rapaport SI (1989) Divided attention, as measured by dichotic speech performance, in dementia of the Alzheimer type. Arch Neurol 46:317–320

    Google Scholar 

  • Grady CL, Haxby JV, Horwitz B, Sundaram M, Berg G, Schapiro M, Friedland RP, Rapoport SI (1989) A longitudinal study of the early neuropsychological and cerebral metabolic changes in dementia of the Alzheimer type. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol 10:576–596

    Google Scholar 

  • Gray JA, Feldon J, Rawlins JNP, Hemsley DR, Smith AD (1991) The neuropsychology of schizophrenia. Behav Brain Sci 14:1–84

    Google Scholar 

  • Grillon C, Courchesne E, Ameli R, Geyer MA, Braff DL (1990) Increased distractibility in schizophrenic patients. Arch Gen Psychiatry 47:171–179

    Google Scholar 

  • Hartman M (1991) The use of semantic knowledge in Alzheimer's disease: evidence for impairments in attention. Neuropsychology 29:213–228

    Google Scholar 

  • Hemsley DR (1992) Cognitive abnormalities and schizophrenic symptoms. Psychol Med 22:839–842

    Google Scholar 

  • Hodges H, Thrasher S, Gray JA (1989) Improved radial maze performance induced by the benzodiazepione receptor antagonist ZK 93 426 in lesioned and alcohol-treated rats. Behav Pharmacol 1:45–55

    Google Scholar 

  • Holley LA, Dudchenko P, Sarter M (1992) Attenuation of muscarinic receptor blockade-induced impairment of spatial delayed alterantion performance by the triazole MDL 26,479. Psychopharmacology 109:223–230

    Google Scholar 

  • Holley LA, Miller JA, Chmielewski P, Dudchenko P, Sarter M (1993) Interactions between the effects of basal forebrain lesions and chronic treatment with MDL 26,479 on learning and markers of cholinergic transmission. Brain Res 610:181–193

    Google Scholar 

  • Huff FJ, Mickel SF, Corkin S, Growdon JH (1988) Cognitive functions affected by scopolamine in Alzheimer's disease and normal aging. Drug Dev Res 12:271–278

    Google Scholar 

  • Hulme C, Lee G, Brown GDA (1993) Short-term memory impairments in Alzheimer-type dementia: evidence for separable impairments of articulatory rehearsal and long-term memory. Neuropsychologia 31:161–172

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnstone EC Crow TM, Frith CD, Owens DGC (1983) Adverse effects of anticholinergic medication in positive schizophrenic symptoms: theoretical and practical considerations. Psychol Med 13:513–527

    Google Scholar 

  • Jorm AF (1986) Controlled and automatic information processing in senile dementia: a review. Psychol Med 16:77–88

    Google Scholar 

  • Juliano SL, Ma W, Eslin D (1991) Cholinergic depletion prevents expansion of topographic maps in somatosensory cortex. Proc Natl Acad Sci 88:780–784

    Google Scholar 

  • Karczmar AG (1981) Basic phenomena underlying novel use of cholinergic agents, anticholinesterases and precursors in neurological including peripheral and psychiatric disease. In: Pepeu G, Ladinsky H (eds) Cholinergic mechanisms. Plenum, New York, pp 853–869

    Google Scholar 

  • Kay SR (1990) Significance of the positive-negative distinction in schizophrenia. Schizophr Bull 16:635–652

    Google Scholar 

  • Kirpatrik B, Buchanan RW, Waltrip RW, Jauch D, Carpenter WT (1989) Diazepam treatment of early symptoms of schizophrenic relapse. J Nerv Ment Dis 177:52–53

    Google Scholar 

  • Knight RA (1984) Converging models of cognitive deficit in schizophrenia. In: Spaulding WD, Cole JK (ed) Theories of schizophrenia and psychosis. Nebraska symposium on motivation 1983. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, pp 93–156

    Google Scholar 

  • Koelega HS (1989) Benzodiazepines and vigilance performance: a review. Psychopharmacology 98:145–156

    Google Scholar 

  • Krnjevic K, Pumain R, Renaud L (1971) The mechanism of excitation by acetylcholine in the cerebral cortex. J Physiol 215:247–268

    Google Scholar 

  • Lehericy S, Hirsch EC, Cervera-Perot P, Hersh LB, Bakchine S, Pette F, Duyckaerts C, Hauw JJ, Javoy-Agid F, Agid Y (1993) Heterogeneity and selectivity of the degeneration of cholinergic neurons in the basal forebrain of patients with Alzheimer's disease. J Comp Neurol 330:15–31

    Google Scholar 

  • Lipska BK, Jaskiw GE, Chrapusta S, Karoum F, Weinberger DR (1992) Ibotenic acid lesions of the ventral hippocampus differentially affects dopamine and its metabolites in the nucleus accumbens and prefrontal cortex in the rat. Brain Res 585:1–6

    Google Scholar 

  • Llorca PM, Wolf MA, Estorges JP (1991) The use of benzodiazepines in schizophrenia. Eur Psychiatry 6:217–222

    Google Scholar 

  • Mackintosh NJ (1974) The psychology of animal learning. Academic Press, London

    Google Scholar 

  • McCullough LD, Salamone JD (1992) Anxiogenic drugs beta-CCE and FG 7142 increase extracellular dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens. Psychopharmacology 109:379–382

    Google Scholar 

  • McGaughy J, Sarter M (1993) A valid vigilance test for rats: effects of age, time on test, signal intensity, and psychotropic drugs. Soc Neurosci Abstr 19:247.16

    Google Scholar 

  • McGaughy J, Turchi J, Sarter M (1994) Crossmodal divided attention in rats. Psychopharmacology (in press)

  • McGhie A, Chapman J (1961) Disorders of attention and perception in early schizophrenia. Br J Med Psychol 34:103–117

    Google Scholar 

  • McKenna PJ, Tamlyn D, Lund CE, Mortimer AM, Hammond S, Baddeley AD (1990) Amnesic syndrome in schizophrenia. Psychol Med 20:967–972

    Google Scholar 

  • Mesulam MM (1990) Large-scale neurocognitive networks and distributed processing for attention, language, and memory. Ann Neurol 28:597–613

    Google Scholar 

  • Metherate R, Ashe JH (1993) Nucleus basalis stimulation facilitates thalamocortical synaptic transmission in the rat auditory cortex. Synapse 14:132–143

    Google Scholar 

  • Metherate R, Weinberger NM (1990) Cholinergic modulation of responses to single tones produces tone-specific receptive field alterations in cat auditory cortex. Synapse 6:133–145

    Google Scholar 

  • Metherate R, Ashe JH, Weinberger NM (1990) Acetylcholine modifies neuronal acoustic rate-level functions in guinea pig auditory cortex by an action at muscarinic receptors. Synapse 6:364–368

    Google Scholar 

  • Mogenson GJ, Ciriello J, Garland J, Wu M (1987) Ventral pallidum projections to mediodoral nucleus of the thalamus: an anatomical and electrophysiological investigation in the rat. Brain Res 404:221–230

    Google Scholar 

  • Moghaddam B, Roth RH, Bunney BS (1990) Characterization of dopamine release in the rat medial prefrontal cortex as assessed by in vivo microdialysis: comparison to the striatum. Neuroscience 36:669–676

    Google Scholar 

  • Moore H, Dudchenko P, Bruno JP, Sarter M (1992a) Toward modeling age-related changes of attentional abilities in rats: simple and choice reaction time tasks and vigilance. Neurobiol Aging 13:759–772

    Google Scholar 

  • Moore H, Sarter M, Bruno JP (1992b) Age-dependent modulation of in vivo cortical acetylcholine release by benzodiazepine receptor ligands. Brain Res 596:17–29

    Google Scholar 

  • Moore H, Sarter M, Bruno JP (1993a) Bidirectional modulation of stimulated cortical acetylcholine release by benzodiazepine receptor ligands. Brain Res 627:267–274

    Google Scholar 

  • Moore H, Stuckman S, Sarter M, Bruno JP (1993b) Modulation of cortical ACh efflux by GABA/benzodiazepine receptor ligands: effects of repeated testing and interactions with dopamine receptors. Curr Separ 12:44

    Google Scholar 

  • Moore H, Sarter M, Bruno JP (1993c) Modulation of stimulated cortical acetylcholine efflux by benzodiazepine receptor ligands is mediated in the basal forebrain. Soc Neurosci Abstr 19:128.12

    Google Scholar 

  • Morris RG (1991) The nature of memory impairment in Alzheimertype dementia. In: Weinman J, Hunter J (eds) Memory. Harwood, London, pp 163–187

    Google Scholar 

  • Mortimer AM, Lund CE, McKenna PJ (1990) The positive:negative dichotomy in schizophrenia. Br J Psychiatry 157:41–49

    Google Scholar 

  • Mouradian MM, Mohr E, Williams JA, Chase TN (1988) No response to high-dose muscarinic agonist therapy in Alzheimer's disease. Neurology 38:606–608

    Google Scholar 

  • Muir JL, Robbins TW, Everitt BJ (1992) Disruptive effects of muscimol infused into the basal forebrain on conditional discrimination and visual attention: differential interactions with cholinergic mechanisms. Psychopharmacology 107:541–550

    Google Scholar 

  • Murphy PC, Sillito AM (1991) Cholinergic enhancement of direction selectivity in the visual cortex of the cat. Neuroscience 40:13–20

    Google Scholar 

  • Mussgay L, Hertwig R (1990) Signal detection indices in schizophrenics on a visual, auditory, and bimodal continuous performance test. Schizophr Res 3:303–310

    Google Scholar 

  • Nagy J, Desci L (1978) Physostigmine, a highly potent antidote for acute experimental diazepam intoxication. Neuropharmacology 17:469–475

    Google Scholar 

  • Nebes RD, Brady CB (1992) Generalized cognitive slowing and severity of dementia in Alzheimer's disease: implications for the interpretation of response-time data. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol 14:317–326

    Google Scholar 

  • Nebes RD, Brady CB, Reynolds CF (1992) Cognitive slowing in Alzheimer's disease and geriatric depression. J Gerontol 47:P331-P336

    Google Scholar 

  • Nestoros JN, Suranyi-Cadotte BE, Spees RC, Schwartz G, Nair V (1982) Diazepam in high doses is effective in schizophrenia. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 6:513–516

    Google Scholar 

  • Nissen MJ, Bullemer P (1987) Attentional requirements of learning: evidence from performance measures. Cogn Psychol 19:1–32

    Google Scholar 

  • Nuechterlein KH, Dawson ME (1984) Information processing and attentional functioning in the developmental course of schizophrenia. Schizophr Bull 10:160–203

    Google Scholar 

  • Parasuraman R. Nestor PG (1991) Attention and driving skills in aging and Alzheimer's disease. Hum Fact 33:539–557

    Google Scholar 

  • Parasuraman R, Greenwood PM, Haxby JV, Grady CL (1992) Visuospatial attention in dementia of the Alzheimer type. Brain 115:711–733

    Google Scholar 

  • Parrott AC (1986) The effects of transdermal scopolamine and four dose levels of oral scopolamine (0.15, 0.3, 0.6, and 1.2 mg) upon psychological performance. Psychopharmacology 89:347–354

    Google Scholar 

  • Patel S, Salter P (1988) Effects of GABA compounds injected into the subpallidal regions of rat brain on nucleus accumbens evoked hyperactivity. Behav Neurosci 102:596–600

    Google Scholar 

  • Pato CN, Wolkowitz OM, Rapaport M, Schultz SC, Pickar D (1989) Benzodiazepine augmentation of neuroleptic treatment in patients with schizophrenia. Psychopharmacol Bull 25:263–266

    Google Scholar 

  • Perry EK, Johnson M, Kerwin JM, Piggott MA, Court JA, Shaw PJ, Ince PG, Brown A, Perry RH (1992) Convergent cholinergic activities in aging and Alzheimer's disease. Neurobiol Aging 13:393–400

    Google Scholar 

  • Piccinin GL, Finali G, Piccirilli M (1990) Neuropsychological effects of L-deprenyl in Alzheimer's type dementia. Clin Neuropharmacol 13:147–163

    Google Scholar 

  • Pirch JH (1993) Basal forebrain and frontal cortex neuron responses during visual discrimination in the rat. Brain Res Bull 31:73–83

    Google Scholar 

  • Pirch JH, Turco K, Rucker HK (1992) A role for acetylcholine in conditioning-related responses of rat frontal cortex neurons: microiontophoretic evidence. Brain Res 586:19–26

    Google Scholar 

  • Pomara N, Stanley B, Block R, Guido J, Russ D, Berchou R, Stanley M, Greenblatt DJ, Newton RE, Gershon S (1984) Adverse effects of single therapeutic doses of diazepam on performance in normal geriatric subjects: relationship to plasma concentrations. Psychopharmacology 84:342–346

    Google Scholar 

  • Poon LW, Fozard JL, Cermak LS, Arenberg D, Thompson LW (eds) (1980) New directions in memory and aging. Lawrence Erlbaum, Hillsdale

    Google Scholar 

  • Posner MI, Petersen SE (1990) The attention system of the human brain. Annu Rev Neurosci 13:25–42

    Google Scholar 

  • Preston GC, Broks P, Traub M, Ward C, Poppleton P, Stahl SM (1988) Effects of lorazepam on memory, attention and sedation in man. Psychopharmacology 95:208–215

    Google Scholar 

  • Preston GC, Ward C, Lines CR, Poppleton P, Haigh JRM, Traub M (1989) Scopolamine and benzodiazepine models of dementia: cross-reversals by Ro 15-1788 and physostigmine. Psychopharmacology 98:487–494

    Google Scholar 

  • Quigley KS, Sarter MF, Hart SL, Berntson GG (1994) Cardiovascular effects of the benzodiazepine inverse agonist FG 7142 in rats. Behav Brain Res (in press)

  • Rasmussen DD, Dykes RW (1988) Long-term enhancement of evoked potentials in cat somatosensory cortex produced by coactivation of the basal forebrain and cutaneous receptors. Exp Brain Res 70:276–286

    Google Scholar 

  • Richardson RT, DeLong MR (1991) Functional implications of tonic and phasic activity changes in nucleus basalis neurons. In: Richardson RT (ed) Activation to acquisition. Functional aspects of the basal forebrain cholinergic system. Birkäuser, Boston, pp 135–166

    Google Scholar 

  • Robbins TW (1986) Psychopharmacological and neurobiological aspects of the energetics of information processing. In: Hockey GRJ, Gaillard AWK, Coles MGH (eds) Energetics and human information processing. Martinus Nijhoff, Dordrecht, pp 71–90

    Google Scholar 

  • Robbins TW, Everitt BJ, Marston HM, Wilkinson J, Jones GH, Page KJ (1989) Comparative effects of ibotenic acid- and quisqualic acid-induced lesions of the substantia innominata on attentional function in the rat: further implications for the role of the cholinergic neurons of the nucleus basalis in cognitive processes. Behav Brain Res 35:221–240

    Google Scholar 

  • Rowntree DW, Nevin S, Wilson A (1950) The effects of diisopropylfluorophosphate in schizophrenia and manic-depressive psychosis. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 13:47–62

    Google Scholar 

  • Rusted JM, Eaton-Williams P, Warburton DM (1991) A comparison of the effects of scopolamine and diazepam on working memory. Psychopharmacology 105:442–445

    Google Scholar 

  • Sahakian BJ, Jones GMM (1991) Cholinergic drugs and human cognitive performance. In: Weinman J, Hunter J (eds) Memory. Harwood, London, pp 65–86

    Google Scholar 

  • Sahakian BJ, Owen AM, Morant NJ, Eagger SA, Boddington S, Crayon L, Crockford HA, Crooks M, Hill K, Levy R (1993a) Further analysis of the cognitive effects of tetrahydroaminoacridine (THA) in Alzheimer's disease: assessment of attentional and mnemonic function using CANTAB. Psychopharmacology 110:395–401

    Google Scholar 

  • Sahakian BJ, Downes JJ, Eagger S, Evenden JL, Levy R, Philpot MP, Roberts AC, Robbins TW (1993b) Sparing of attentional relative to mnemonic function in a subgroup of patients with dementia of the Alzheimer type. Neuropsychology 28:1197–1213

    Google Scholar 

  • Sarter M (1991) Dopamine-GABA-cholinergic interactions and negative schizophrenic symptomatology. Behav Brain Sci 14:46–47

    Google Scholar 

  • Sarter M, Bruno JP, Dudchenko P (1990) Activating the damaged basal forebrain cholinergic system: Tonic stimulation versus signal amplification. Psychopharmacology 101:1–17

    Google Scholar 

  • Sarter M, Bruno JP, Dudchenko P (1991) Cholinergic controversies. Trends Neurosci 14:484

    Google Scholar 

  • Sarter M, Dudchenko P, Moore H, Holley LA, Bruno JP (1992a) Cognition enhancement based on GABA-cholinergic interactions. In: Levin ED, Decker M, Butcher LL (eds) Neurotransmitter interactions and cognitive function. Birkhäuser, Boston, pp 329–354

    Google Scholar 

  • Sarter M, Hagan J, Dudchenko P (1992b) Behavioral screening for cognition enhancers: from indiscriminate to valid testing. Part I. Psychopharmacology 107:144–159

    Google Scholar 

  • Sarter M, Hagan J, Dudchenko P (1992c) Behavioral screening for cognition enhancers: from indiscriminate to valid testing. Part II. Psychopharmacology 107:461–473

    Google Scholar 

  • Sato H, Hata Y, Hagihara K, Tsumoto T (1987) Effects of cholinergic depletion on neuron activities in the cat visual cortex. J Neurophysiol 58:781–794

    Google Scholar 

  • Serper MR (1993) Visual controlled information processing resources and formal thought disorder in schizophrenia and mania. Schizophr Res 9:59–66

    Google Scholar 

  • Sillito AM, Kemp JA (1983) Cholinergic modulation of the functional organization of the cat visual cortex. Brain Res 289:143–155

    Google Scholar 

  • Sillito AM, Murphy PC (1987) The cholinergic modulation of cortical function. In: Jones EG, Peters A (eds) Cerebral cortex, Vol.6. Plenum, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Spring B (1992) Cognitive alterations as markers of vulnerability to schizophrenia. In: Friedman D, Bruder G (eds) Psychophysiology and experimental psychopathology: a tribute to Samuel Sutton. Ann NY Acad Sci 658:128–145

    Google Scholar 

  • Storozhuk VM, Zinjuk LE (1991) Influence of substantia innominata neuronal activity on neocortex neuronal reactions during conditioned reflex. Brain Res 550:169–171

    Google Scholar 

  • Sunderland T, Weingartner H, Cohen R, Tariot PN, Newhouse PA, Thompson KE, Lawlor BA, Mueller EA (1989) Low-dose oral lorazepam administration in Alzheimer subjects and age-matched controls. Psychopharmacology 99:129–133

    Google Scholar 

  • Swerdlow NR, Koob GF (1984) Substantia innominata: critical link in the behavioral expression of mesolimbic dopamine stimulation in the rat. Neurosci Lett 50:19–24

    Google Scholar 

  • Swerdlow NR, Koob GF (1987) Lesions of the dorsomedial nucleus of the thalamus, medial prefrontal cortex and pedunculopontine nucleus: effects on locomotor activity mediated by nucleus accumbens-ventral pallidal circuitry. Brain Res 412:233–243

    Google Scholar 

  • Tandon R, Greden JF (1989) Cholinergic hyperactivity and negative schizophrenic symptoms. Arch Gen Psychiatry 46:745–753

    Google Scholar 

  • Tandon R, Shipley JE, Greden JF, Mann NA, Eisner WH, Goodson JA (1991) Muscarinic cholinergic hyperactivity in schizophrenia. Relationship to positive and negative symptoms. Schizophr Res 4:23–30

    Google Scholar 

  • Tandon R, Greden JF, Haskett RF (1993) Cholinergic hyperactivity and negative symptoms: behavioral effects of physostigmine in normal controls. Schizophr Res 9:19–23

    Google Scholar 

  • Tariot PN, Sunderland T, Weingartner H, Murphy DL, Welkowitz JA, Thompson K, Cohen RM (1987) Cognitive effects of L-deprenyl in Alzheimer's disease. Psychopharmacology 91:489–495

    Google Scholar 

  • Thiebot MH, Soubrie P, Sanger D (1988) Anxiogenic properties of beta-CCE and FG 7142: a review of promises and pitfalls. Psychopharmacology 94:452–463

    Google Scholar 

  • Tremblay N, Waren RA, Dykes RW (1990) Electrophysiological studies of acetylcholine and the role of the basal forebrain in the somatosensory cortex of the cat II. Cortical neurons excited by somatic stimuli. J Neurophysiol 64:1212–1222

    Google Scholar 

  • Turner JJ, Hodges H, Sinden JD, Gray JA (1992) Comparison of radial maze performance of rats after ibotenate and quisqualate lesions of the basal forebrain cholinergic projection system: effects of pharmacological challenge and changes in training regime. Behav Pharmacol 3:359–373

    Google Scholar 

  • Venables PH (1964) Input dysfunction in schizophrenia. In: Maher BA (ed) Progress in experimental personality research. Academic, New York, pp 1–47

    Google Scholar 

  • Venables PH (1992) Hippocampal function and schizophrenia. In: Friedman D, Bruder G (eds) Psychophysiology and experimental psychopathology: a tribute to Samuel Sutton. Ann NY Acad Sci 658:111–127

    Google Scholar 

  • Vrtunski PB, Patterson MB, Mack JL, Hill GO (1983) Microbehavioural analysis of the choice reaction time response in senile dementia. Brain 106:929–947

    Google Scholar 

  • Warburton DM (1979) Psychological aspects of information-processing and stress. In: Hamilton V, Warburton DM (eds) Human stress and cognition. Wiley, London, pp 33–36

    Google Scholar 

  • Warburton DM (1981) Neurochemical basis of behaviour. BMJ 37:121–125

    Google Scholar 

  • Warburton DM, Rusted JM (1991) Cholinergic systems and information processing capacity. In: Weinman J, Hunter J (eds) Memory. Harwood, London, pp 87–104

    Google Scholar 

  • Warburton DM, Wesnes K (1979) Acetylcholine and attentional disorders. In: Singh MM, Warburton DM, Lal H, Mason B (eds) Central cholinergic mechanisms and adaptive dysfunctions. Plenum, New York, pp 223–245

    Google Scholar 

  • Weinberger DR (1987) Implications of normal brain development for the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. Arch Gen Psychiatry 44:660–669

    Google Scholar 

  • Weingartner H, Eckardt M, Molchan S, Sunderland T, Wolkowitz O (1992) Measurement and interpretation of changes in memory in response to drug treatments. Psychopharmacol Bull 28:331–340

    Google Scholar 

  • Wells BG, Marken P, Rickman LA, Brown CS, Haman G, Grimmig J (1989) Characterizing anticholinergic abuse in community mental health. J Clin Psychopharmacol 9:431–435

    Google Scholar 

  • Wesnes K, Simpson P, Kidd A (1988) An investigation of the range of cognitive impairments induced by scopolamine 0.6 mg s.c. Hum Psychopharmacol 3:27–41

    Google Scholar 

  • Wickens CD (1992) Engineering psychology and human performance. Harper Collins, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Wolkowitz OM, Pickar D (1991) Benzodiazepines in the treatment of schizophrenia: a review and reappraisal. Am J Psychiatry 148:714–726

    Google Scholar 

  • Wolkowitz OM, Weingartner H, Thompson K, Pickar D, Paul SM, Hommer DW (1987) Diazepam-induced amnesia: a neuropharmacological model of an “organic amnesic syndrome”. Am J Psychiatry 144:25–29

    Google Scholar 

  • Wolkowitz OM, Breier A, Doran A, Kelsoe J, Lucas P, Paul SM, Pickar D (1988) Alprazolam augmentation of the antipsychotic effects of fluphenazine in schizophrenic patients. Arch Gen Psychiatry 45:664–671

    Google Scholar 

  • Woolf NJ (1991) Cholinergic systems in mammalian brain and spinal cord. Prog Neurobiol 37:475–524

    Google Scholar 

  • Yang CR, Mogenson GJ (1989) Ventral pallidal responses to dopamine receptor stimulation in the nucleus accumbens. Brain Res 489:237–246

    Google Scholar 

  • Zaborszky L, Cullian WE, Braun A (1990) Afferents to basal forebrain cholinergic projection neurons: an update. In: Napier TC, Kalivas PW, Hanin I (eds) The basal forebrain. Anatomy to function. Plenum, New York, pp 43–100

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Program, The Ohio State University, 27 Townshend Hall, 43210, Columbus, OH, USA

    Martin Sarter

Authors
  1. Martin Sarter
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Additional information

The walk of a stranger on the street could be a “sign” to me which I must interpret. Every face in the windows of a passing streetcar would be engraved on my mind, all of them concentrating on me and trying to pass me some sort of message. McDonald N (1960) Living with schizophrenia. Can Med Assoc J 82:218–227

Today my mother did not recognize me. Dette U (1991) Ein langer Abschied. Der Verlauf einer Alzheimer-Krankheit. (A long farewell. A case of Alzheimer's disease). Fischer Taschenbuch, Frankfurt [in German]

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Sarter, M. Neuronal mechanisms of the attentional dysfunctions in senile dementia and schizophrenia: two sides of the same coin?. Psychopharmacology 114, 539–550 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02244983

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02244983

Key words

Search

Navigation