title: Cholinergic influences on feature binding.
abstract: The binding problem refers to the fundamental challenge of the central nervous system to integrate sensory information registered by multiple brain regions to form a unified neural representation of a stimulus. Human behavioral, neuropsychological, and functional neuroimaging evidence suggests a fundamental role for attention in feature binding; however, its neurochemical basis is currently unknown. This study examined whether acetylcholine (ACh), a neuromodulator that has been implicated in attentional processes, plays a critical role in feature binding. Using a within-subjects pharmacological design and the cholinergic muscarinic antagonist scopolamine, the present experiments demonstrate, in a rat model, a critical role for the cortical muscarinic cholinergic system in feature binding. Specifically, ACh and the attentional resources that it supports are essential for the initial feature binding process but are not required to maintain neural representations of bound stimuli.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada. leigh.botly@utoronto.ca
authors.forename: Leigh C P
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Botly
authors.forename: Eve
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: De Rosa
mesh_terms: D000109:Acetylcholine / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D003216:Conditioning, Operant / Q000187:drug effects; D003463:Cues; D007858:Learning / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000187:drug effects; D018727:Muscarinic Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D009812:Odorants; D010275:Parasympathetic Nervous System / Q000502:physiology*; D010276:Parasympatholytics / Q000494:pharmacology; D010465:Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D051381:Rats; D020318:Rats, Long-Evans; D012601:Scopolamine / Q000494:pharmacology; D012903:Smell / Q000502:physiology; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D018727:Muscarinic Antagonists; D010276:Parasympatholytics; D012601:Scopolamine; D000109:Acetylcholine