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Basal forebrain control of wakefulness and cortical rhythms
Anaclet C, Pedersen NP, Ferrari LL, Venner A, Bass CE, Arrigoni E, Fuller PM.. Nature communications, 2015-11-03
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Wakefulness, along with fast cortical rhythms and associated cognition, depend on the basal forebrain (BF). BF cholinergic cell loss in dementia and the sedative effect of anti-cholinergic drugs have long implicated these neurons as important for cognition and wakefulness. The BF also contains intermingled inhibitory GABAergic and excitatory glutamatergic cell groups whose exact neurobiological roles are unclear. Here we show that genetically targeted chemogenetic activation of BF cholinergic or glutamatergic neurons in behaving mice produced significant effects on state consolidation and/or the electroencephalogram but had no effect on total wake. Similar activation of BF GABAergic neurons produced sustained wakefulness and high-frequency cortical rhythms, whereas chemogenetic inhibition increased sleep. Our findings reveal a major contribution of BF GABAergic neurons to wakefulness and the fast cortical rhythms associated with cognition. These findings may be clinically applicable to manipulations aimed at increasing forebrain activation in dementia and the minimally conscious state.
Key findings
- Here we show that genetically targeted chemogenetic activation of BF cholinergic or glutamatergic neurons in behaving mice produced significant effects on state consolidation and/or the electroencephalogram but had no effect on total wake.
- Our findings reveal a major contribution of BF GABAergic neurons to wakefulness and the fast cortical rhythms associated with cognition.
- These findings may be clinically applicable to manipulations aimed at increasing forebrain activation in dementia and the minimally conscious state.
Why it matters
In mice, chemogenetic activation of basal forebrain GABAergic neurons produced sustained wakefulness and high-frequency cortical rhythms, while inhibition increased sleep, and activation of cholinergic or glutamatergic neurons affected state consolidation or EEG but not total wake. These animal findings suggest possible ways to increase forebrain activation in dementia, but they are early research and do not show a treatment or cure for Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 52/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Nature communications) |
| Journal's citation record | 4 / 4 | Nature Communications: journal h-index 747 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| 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 | 2015 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| 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 | 5 / 7 | Cited 271 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 20.8 citations a year over 13 year(s) since 2015 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 15.1× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 58 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Patrick Michael Fuller: h-index 50 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 3 / 3 | Harvard University: institution h-index 3,235 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 26524973) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 52 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
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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. The record names 7 authors; APA and Vancouver show the first six, BibTeX and the downloads carry all of them. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Anaclet, C., Pedersen, N. P., Ferrari, L. L., Venner, A., Bass, C. E., Arrigoni, E., et al. (2015). Basal forebrain control of wakefulness and cortical rhythms. Nature communications. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms9744
Vancouver
Anaclet C, Pedersen NP, Ferrari LL, Venner A, Bass CE, Arrigoni E, et al. Basal forebrain control of wakefulness and cortical rhythms. Nature communications. 2015. doi:10.1038/ncomms9744. PMID: 26524973.
BibTeX
@article{anaclet2015-26524973,
author = {Anaclet, C. and Pedersen, N. P. and Ferrari, L. L. and Venner, A. and Bass, C. E. and Arrigoni, E. and Fuller, P. M.},
title = {{Basal forebrain control of wakefulness and cortical rhythms}},
journal = {Nature communications},
year = {2015},
doi = {10.1038/ncomms9744},
pmid = {26524973},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms9744}
}
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