ABSTRACT
The investigation of the relationship between cholinergic neurons of the central nervous system and memory has had a rich and diverse history. Cholinergic neurons are extensively disbursed throughout the central and peripheral nervous system, and encompass numerous and varied behavioral functions. This chapter is an overview of the literature investigating the role cholinergic neurons play in memory. It describes the history of this investigation, which culminated in the late 1970s with the cholinergic hypothesis of memory dysfunction in senescence and in senile dementia of the Alzheimer type (SDAT). The chapter reviews the more recent animal and human research. It focuses on a number of specific papers examining the scopolamine model of memory dysfunction in SDAT, and concentrate on studies of maze learning in animals. The chapter examines the animal literature with respect to the controversy over the claims for a selective involvement of the cholinergic system in working memory and in place learning.
