Home › Research › Cognitive tests and assessment
Alzheimer disease, attention, and the cholinergic system
Lawrence AD, Sahakian BJ.. Alzheimer disease and associated disorders, 1995-01-01
Topic: Drug trials: efficacy and safety
Recent neuropsychological studies suggest that, in addition to prominent mnemonic dysfunction, attentional impairments are a core feature of Alzheimer disease (AD). As is the case for memory, attention is not a unitary process, and only certain components of attention are disrupted in mild AD, particularly sustained and spatial attention. In this article we review evidence from both human and nonhuman neuropsychopharmacology that leads us to suggest that (at least some of) the attentional impairments seen in AD can be related to damage to the basal forebrain cholinergic system (BFCS), in particular the nucleus basalis of Meynert (nbM), which undergoes significant neuronal loss in AD. The BFCS provides the major cholinergic innervation to the cortex and innervates brain regions such as the thalamus, prefrontal cortex, and parietal lobes known to be involved in attentional operations. In addition, studies conducted by our group suggest that drugs acting to stimulate the cholinergic system, in particular tacrine and nicotine, can significantly improve attentional function in patients with AD as measured by improved performance on objective computerised cognitive tasks. Furthermore, cholinergic drugs may also have some utility in other disorders with attentional pathology, such as Parkinson's disease.
Key findings
- Recent neuropsychological studies suggest that, in addition to prominent mnemonic dysfunction, attentional impairments are a core feature of Alzheimer disease (AD).
- In this article we review evidence from both human and nonhuman neuropsychopharmacology that leads us to suggest that (at least some of) the attentional impairments seen in AD can be related to damage to the basal forebrain cholinergic system (BFCS), in particular the nucleus basalis of Meynert (nbM), which undergoes significant neuronal loss in AD.
- In addition, studies conducted by our group suggest that drugs acting to stimulate the cholinergic system, in particular tacrine and nicotine, can significantly improve attentional function in patients with AD as measured by improved performance on objective computerised cognitive tasks.
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 36/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record and multi-centre collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 21 of the 58 points we could judge it on, which is 36 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Alzheimer disease and associated disorders) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 1995 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 8534423) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 21 / 58 | Scored on 11 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 21 of the 58 points we could judge it on is 36 out of 100. |
| Total | 36 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
Free copy unknown: no free-copy check has an answer for this record yet. That does not mean it is paywalled.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Lawrence, A. D., & Sahakian, B. J. (1995). Alzheimer disease, attention, and the cholinergic system. Alzheimer disease and associated disorders. https://doi.org/10.1097/00002093-199501002-00008
Vancouver
Lawrence AD, Sahakian BJ. Alzheimer disease, attention, and the cholinergic system. Alzheimer disease and associated disorders. 1995. doi:10.1097/00002093-199501002-00008. PMID: 8534423.
BibTeX
@article{lawrence1995-8534423,
author = {Lawrence, A. D. and Sahakian, B. J.},
title = {{Alzheimer disease, attention, and the cholinergic system}},
journal = {Alzheimer disease and associated disorders},
year = {1995},
doi = {10.1097/00002093-199501002-00008},
pmid = {8534423},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1097/00002093-199501002-00008}
}
Related studies in Cognitive tests and assessment
Also tagged “acetylcholinesterase”
234 studies in the library carry the topic tag “acetylcholinesterase”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 234 tagged studies.