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Updated: Oct 24, 2026

Preparation of Acute Hippocampal Slices from Rats and Transgenic Mice for the Study of Synaptic Alterations during Aging and Amyloid Pathology
Published on: March 23, 2011
Acetylcholine potentiates glutamate-induced neurodegeneration in cultured hippocampal neurons
1Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, University of Kentucky Medical Center, Lexington 40536-0230.
Abstract:
Glutamate-induced neurodegeneration in the mammalian central nervous system may be involved in both normal development and pathological neurodegenerative disorders. Cultured embryonic hippocampal pyramidal neurons were used to test the hypothesis that acetylcholine can modify glutamate-induced neurodegeneration. Acetylcholine potentiated the neurodegenerative actions of glutamate and lowered the threshold for glutamate neurotoxicity. The degeneration-potentiating effects of acetylcholine were mediated by muscarinic receptors. These results emphasize the importance of neurotransmitter interactions in the modification of neuroarchitecture.
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