Attenuation in rats of impairments of memory by scopolamine a muscarinic receptor antagonist by mecamylamine a nicotinic receptor antagonist

摘要

RationaleScopolamine, a muscarinic antagonist, impairs learning and memory for many tasks, supporting an important role for the cholinergic system in these cognitive functions. The findings are most often interpreted to indicate that a decrease in postsynaptic muscarinic receptor activation mediates the memory impairments. However, scopolamine also results in increased release of acetylcholine in the brain as a result of blocking presynaptic muscarinic receptors.