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Structural and functional considerations of the cholinergic brainstem

  • Translational Neurosciences - Review Article
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Abstract

Cholinergic neurons of the brainstem have traditionally been associated with a role in wakefulness as part of the reticular activating system, but their function cannot be explained solely on the basis of their modulation of the brain state. Recent findings about their connectivity and functional heterogeneity suggest a wider role in behavior, where basal ganglia is at the center of their influence. This review focuses on recent findings that suggest an intrinsic functional organization of the cholinergic brainstem that is closely correlated with its connectivity with midbrain and forebrain circuits. Furthermore, recent evidence on the temporal structure of the activation of brainstem cholinergic neurons reveals fundamental aspects about the nature of cholinergic signaling. Consideration of the cholinergic brainstem complex in the context of wider brain circuits is critical to understand its contribution to normal behavior.

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Notes

  1. Such functional topography across the cholinergic brainstem is thus likely to determine different outcomes associated to the site of deep brain stimulation in Parkinson’s disease patients. Furthermore, the implication of such manipulation for the wide variety of PPN targets and their functional heterogeneity [e.g., striatum (Dautan et al. 2014), cerebellum (Vitale et al. 2016)] is yet to be determined.

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Acknowledgments

I wish to thank J. Paul Bolam for comments on this manuscript.

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  1. Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Aidekman Research Center, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ, 07102, USA

    Juan Mena-Segovia

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  1. Juan Mena-Segovia
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Correspondence to Juan Mena-Segovia.

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Mena-Segovia, J. Structural and functional considerations of the cholinergic brainstem. J Neural Transm 123, 731–736 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00702-016-1530-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00702-016-1530-9

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