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Cholinergic Functioning, Cognition, and Anticholinergic Medication Burden in Schizophrenia
Yash B Joshi1,2
1Desert Pacific Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Center, VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, USA. yajoshi@health.ucsd.edu.
Abstract:
Acetylcholine (ACh) signaling is critical for central nervous function and is known to be abnormal in schizophrenia (SZ), a chronic neuropsychiatric disorder in which cognitive deficits persist, despite treatment. This review provides a summary of the clinical evidence linking ACh abnormalities to SZ-associated cognitive deficits, an overview of ACh-based pro-cognitive strategies attempted in SZ, and a survey of recent studies that describe the impact of anticholinergic medication burden on cognitive outcomes in SZ. Methodological challenges that currently limit more substantial investigation of ACh in SZ patients and future directions are also discussed.
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