The role of acetylcholine in negative encoding bias: Too much of a good thing?
Year: 2019
Type: review
Abstract: Optimal acetylcholine (ACh) signaling is important for sustained attention and facilitates learning and memory. At the same time, human and animal studies have demonstrated increased levels of ACh in the brain during depressive episodes and increased symptoms of anxiety, depression, and reactivity to stress when ACh breakdown is impaired. While it is possible that the neuromodulatory roles of ACh in cognitive and affective processes are distinct, one possibility is that homeostatic levels of ACh signaling are necessary for appropriate learning, but overly high levels of cholinergic signaling promote encoding of stressful events, leading to the negative encoding bias that is a core symptom of depression. In this review, we outline this hypothesis and suggest potential neural pathways and underlying mechanisms that may support a role for ACh signaling in negative encoding bias.
Source: European Journal of Neuroscience
DOI: 10.1111/ejn.14641
Authors: Yann S. Mineur, Marina R. Picciotto
Institution: Yale University
Language: English
Subfield: Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: G1028864832, G1375119797, Anatomical Basis for Nicotine Addiction, Sex-Appropriate Treatment Development for Alcohol Use Disorders, Nicotine and Food Intake, Acetylcholine signaling allows cognitive processes in the brain to regulate physiological responses to the environment: the example of central control of opiate tolerance, Yale Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science, Cholinergic Contribution to Circuits Guiding Behavioral Responses to Stressors, Yale-SCORE on Sex Differences in Alcohol Use Disorder, Yale Center for the Study of Tobacco Product Use and Addiction (YCSTP), Anatomical Basis for Nicotine Addiction
OpenAlex ID: W2994638190