BACKGROUND: Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) is a risk factor for future cognitive impairment and dementia. It is uncertain whether the neurodegeneration of the cholinergic system is already present in SCD individuals. We aimed to review the current evidence about the association between SCD and biomarkers of degeneration in the cholinergic system. METHOD: Original articles were extracted from three databases: Pubmed, Web of Sciences, and Scopus, in January 2023. Two researchers screened the studies independently. RESULTS: A total of 11 research articles were selected. SCD was mostly based on amnestic cognitive complaints. Cholinergic system biomarkers included neuroimaging markers of basal forebrain volume, functional connectivity, transcranial magnetic stimulation, or biofluid. The evidence showed associations between basal forebrain atrophy, poorer connectivity of the cholinergic system, and SCD CONCLUSIONS: Degenerative changes in the cholinergic system can be present in SCD. Subjective complaints may help when identifying individuals with brain changes that are associated with cognitive impairment. These findings may have important implications in targeting individuals that may benefit from cholinergic-target treatments at very early stages of neurodegenerative diseases.

• Klíčová slova
• Basal forebrain, Basal nucleus of Meynert, Ch(4), Cholinergic system, Subjective cognitive impairment, Subjective memory complaints,
• MeSH
• Alzheimerova nemoc * MeSH
• biologické markery MeSH
• cholinergní látky MeSH
• kognitivní dysfunkce * diagnostické zobrazování   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• magnetická rezonanční tomografie MeSH
• neurozobrazování metody   MeSH
• pars basalis telencephali * MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• systematický přehled MeSH
• Názvy látek
• biologické markery MeSH
• cholinergní látky MeSH

BACKGROUND: Cholinergic deficit and medial temporal lobe (MTL) atrophy are hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD) leading to early allocentric spatial navigation (aSN) impairment. APOEɛ4 allele (E4) is a major genetic risk factor for late-onset AD and contributes to cholinergic dysfunction. Basal forebrain (BF) nuclei, the major source of acetylcholine, project into multiple brain regions and, along with MTL and prefrontal cortex (PFC), are involved in aSN processing. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to determine different contributions of individual BF nuclei atrophy to aSN in E4 positive and E4 negative older adults without dementia and assess whether they operate on aSN through MTL and PFC or independently from these structures. METHODS: 120 participants (60 E4 positive, 60 E4 negative) from the Czech Brain Aging Study underwent structural MRI and aSN testing in real-space arena setting. Hippocampal and BF nuclei volumes and entorhinal cortex and PFC thickness were obtained. Associations between brain regions involved in aSN were assessed using MANOVA and complex model of mutual relationships was built using structural equation modelling (SEM). RESULTS: Path analysis based on SEM modeling revealed that BF Ch1-2, Ch4p, and Ch4ai nuclei volumes were indirectly associated with aSN performance through MTL (pch1 - 2 = 0.039; pch4p = 0.042) and PFC (pch4ai = 0.044). In the E4 negative group, aSN was indirectly associated with Ch1-2 nuclei volumes (p = 0.015), while in the E4 positive group, there was indirect effect of Ch4p nucleus (p = 0.035). CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that in older adults without dementia, BF nuclei affect aSN processing indirectly, through MTL and PFC, and that APOE E4 moderates these associations.

• Klíčová slova
• Allocentric spatial navigation, apolipoprotein E, basal forebrain, entorhinal cortex, hippocampus, magnetic resonance imaging, prefrontal cortex,
• MeSH
• alely MeSH
• Alzheimerova nemoc * diagnostické zobrazování   genetika   MeSH
• atrofie MeSH
• cholinergní látky MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• magnetická rezonanční tomografie MeSH
• pars basalis telencephali * diagnostické zobrazování   MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Názvy látek
• cholinergní látky MeSH

Disruptions in social behaviour are prevalent in many neuropsychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and autism spectrum disorders. However, the underlying neurochemical regulation of social behaviour is still not well understood. The central cholinergic system has been proposed to contribute to the regulation of social behaviour. For instance, decreased global levels of acetylcholine release in the brain leads to decreased social interaction and an impairment of social memory in mice. Nonetheless, it has been difficult to ascertain the specific brain areas where cholinergic signalling influences social preference and social memory. In this study, we investigated the impact of different forebrain cholinergic regions on social behaviour by examining mouse lines that differ in their regional expression level of the vesicular acetylcholine transporter-the protein that regulates acetylcholine secretion. We found that when cholinergic signalling is highly disrupted in the striatum, hippocampus, cortex and amygdala mice have intact social preference but are impaired in social memory, as they cannot remember a familiar conspecific nor recognize a novel one. A similar pattern emerges when acetylcholine release is disrupted mainly in the striatum, cortex, and amygdala; however, the ability to recognize novel conspecifics is retained. In contrast, cholinergic signalling of the striatum and amygdala does not appear to significantly contribute to the modulation of social memory and social preference. Furthermore, we demonstrated that increasing global cholinergic tone does not increase social behaviours. Together, these data suggest that cholinergic transmission from the hippocampus and cortex are important for regulating social memory.

• Klíčová slova
• acetylcholine, autism, forebrain, schizophrenia, social memory,
• MeSH
• acetylcholin MeSH
• cholinergní látky MeSH
• hipokampus metabolismus   MeSH
• myši MeSH
• pars basalis telencephali * MeSH
• vezikulární transportní proteiny acetylcholinu metabolismus   MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• myši MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Názvy látek
• acetylcholin MeSH
• cholinergní látky MeSH
• vezikulární transportní proteiny acetylcholinu MeSH

The integrity of the cholinergic system plays a central role in cognitive decline both in normal aging and neurological disorders including Alzheimer's disease and vascular cognitive impairment. Most of the previous neuroimaging research has focused on the integrity of the cholinergic basal forebrain, or its sub-region the nucleus basalis of Meynert (NBM). Tractography using diffusion tensor imaging data may enable modelling of the NBM white matter projections. We investigated the contribution of NBM volume, NBM white matter projections, small vessel disease (SVD), and age to performance in attention and memory in 262 cognitively normal individuals (39-77 years of age, 53% female). We developed a multimodal MRI pipeline for NBM segmentation and diffusion-based tracking of NBM white matter projections, and computed white matter hypointensities (WM-hypo) as a marker of SVD. We successfully tracked pathways that closely resemble the spatial layout of the cholinergic system as seen in previous post-mortem and DTI tractography studies. We found that high WM-hypo load was associated with older age, male sex, and lower performance in attention and memory. A high WM-hypo load was also associated with lower integrity of the cholinergic system above and beyond the effect of age. In a multivariate model, age and integrity of NBM white matter projections were stronger contributors than WM-hypo load and NBM volume to performance in attention and memory. We conclude that the integrity of NBM white matter projections plays a fundamental role in cognitive aging. This and other modern neuroimaging methods offer new opportunities to re-evaluate the cholinergic hypothesis of cognitive aging.

• Klíčová slova
• Basal forebrain, Cholinergic system, Cognition, Magnetic resonance imaging, Normal aging, Small vessel disease,
• MeSH
• bílá hmota anatomie a histologie   diagnostické zobrazování   MeSH
• dospělí MeSH
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• nervové dráhy anatomie a histologie   diagnostické zobrazování   MeSH
• nucleus basalis Meynerti anatomie a histologie   diagnostické zobrazování   MeSH
• paměť fyziologie   MeSH
• pars basalis telencephali anatomie a histologie   diagnostické zobrazování   MeSH
• pozornost fyziologie   MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• sexuální faktory MeSH
• stárnutí fyziologie   MeSH
• věkové faktory MeSH
• zobrazování difuzních tenzorů * MeSH
• Check Tag
• dospělí MeSH
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH

Hippocampal and basal forebrain (BF) atrophy is associated with allocentric navigation impairment in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and may lead to recruitment of compensatory navigation strategies. We examined navigation strategy preference, its association with allocentric navigation, and the role of hippocampal and BF volumes in this association in early clinical stages of AD. Sixty nine participants-amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) due to AD (n = 28), AD dementia (n = 21), and cognitively normal (CN) older adults (n = 20)-underwent virtual Y-maze strategy assessment, real-space navigation testing, cognitive assessment, and hippocampal and BF volumetry. Preference for egocentric over allocentric strategy increased with AD severity (aMCI: 67% vs. 33%; dementia: 94% vs. 6%), which contrasted with preference in the CN group (39% vs. 61%). Those with aMCI who preferred egocentric strategy had worse allocentric navigation. Among those with aMCI, hippocampal and BF atrophy explained up to 25% of the association between strategy preference and allocentric navigation. The preference for egocentric strategy in AD may reflect recruitment of compensatory extrahippocampal navigation strategies as adaptation to hippocampal and BF neurodegeneration.

• Klíčová slova
• Allocentric, Basal forebrain, Egocentric, Hippocampus, Mild cognitive impairment, Navigation, Strategy,
• MeSH
• Alzheimerova nemoc patologie   psychologie   MeSH
• atrofie MeSH
• bludiště - učení MeSH
• degenerace nervu MeSH
• hipokampus patologie   patofyziologie   MeSH
• kognitivní dysfunkce patologie   psychologie   MeSH
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• neuropsychologické testy MeSH
• pars basalis telencephali patologie   patofyziologie   MeSH
• prostorová navigace fyziologie   MeSH
• senioři nad 80 let MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• stupeň závažnosti nemoci MeSH
• velikost orgánu MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• senioři nad 80 let MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH

There is a growing body of evidence that stressful events may affect the brain not only as a whole, but also in multiple laterality aspects. The present review is aimed at discussing the effect of stress and stress hormones on structural brain asymmetry. Differences and crossroads of functional and structural asymmetry are briefly mentioned throughout the document. The first part of this review summarizes major findings in the field of structural brain asymmetries in animals and humans from the evolutionary perspective. Additionally, effect of stress on animals is discussed generally. The second part then explores asymmetrical effects of stress on structural changes of principal brain areas - amygdala, hippocampus, neocortex, diencephalon, basal forebrain and basal ganglia from the point of normal lateralization, steroids, trauma and genetic factors. At the end we present hypothesis why stress appears to have asymmetrical effects on lateralized brain structures.

• MeSH
• amygdala diagnostické zobrazování   metabolismus   MeSH
• bazální ganglia diagnostické zobrazování   metabolismus   MeSH
• biologická evoluce MeSH
• diencefalon diagnostické zobrazování   metabolismus   MeSH
• funkční lateralita MeSH
• glukokortikoidy metabolismus   MeSH
• hipokampus diagnostické zobrazování   metabolismus   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• magnetická rezonanční tomografie MeSH
• mozek diagnostické zobrazování   metabolismus   MeSH
• neokortex diagnostické zobrazování   metabolismus   MeSH
• pars basalis telencephali diagnostické zobrazování   metabolismus   MeSH
• posttraumatická stresová porucha diagnostické zobrazování   MeSH
• psychický stres metabolismus   MeSH
• systém hypofýza - nadledviny metabolismus   MeSH
• systém hypotalamus-hypofýza metabolismus   MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• přehledy MeSH
• Názvy látek
• glukokortikoidy MeSH