Description: The integrity of the cholinergic system determines memory performance in healthy elderly

This title appears in the Scientific Report : 2014

The integrity of the cholinergic system determines memory performance in healthy elderly

The cholinergic system plays a central role in episodic memory-related processes in health and disease. Cerebral acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity, a measure of the integrity of the cholinergic system, can be assessed in vivo using positron emission tomography (PET) and [11C]N-methyl-4-piperidyl...

Personal Name(s):	Richter, Nils (Corresponding Author)
	Allendorf, Inka / Onur, Özgür / Kracht, Lutz / Dietlein, Markus / Tittgemeyer, Marc / Neumaier, Bernd / Fink, Gereon R. / Kukolja, Juraj
Contributing Institute:	Kognitive Neurowissenschaften; INM-3
Published in:	NeuroImage, 100 (2014) S. 481–488
Imprint:	Orlando, Fla. Academic Press 2014
DOI:	10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.06.031
PubMed ID:	24952230
Document Type:	Journal Article
Research Program:	(Dys-)function and Plasticity Pathophysiological Mechanisms of Neurological and Psychiatric Diseases
	Publikationsportal JuSER

Please use the identifier: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.06.031 in citations.

The cholinergic system plays a central role in episodic memory-related processes in health and disease. Cerebral acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity, a measure of the integrity of the cholinergic system, can be assessed in vivo using positron emission tomography (PET) and [11C]N-methyl-4-piperidyl acetate (MP4A). A close relationship between the kinetic constant k3 of MP4A and mnestic functions has been demonstrated for patients suffering from amnestic mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease. Under the hypothesis that AChE activity and memory are intimately linked in older age, we obtained MP4A-PET and structural magnetic resonance images as well as neuropsychological data from fourteen healthy older adults. Multiple regression analysis revealed that AChE activity in areas previously implicated in mnestic functions predicted episodic memory performance irrespective of cortical atrophy. Data suggest that in older adults the integrity of the cholinergic system underlies inter-individual variability in memory function.