ReviewNeuron2012
Acetylcholine as a neuromodulator: cholinergic signaling shapes nervous system function and behavior.
Review in Neuron, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 729 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
729 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 1,362 citations in OpenAlex.
- The influence of sleep on human taste function and perception: A systematic review.Journal of sleep research · 2025Pooled it
- Targeting the cholinergic and endocannabinoid systems as a therapeutic intervention for core and associated phenotypes in the autism model; a systematic review.Trends in psychiatry and psychotherapy · 2025Pooled it
- Neuroprotective nutrients in pregnancy and infant brain function.Clinical nutrition ESPEN · 2025Trial
- Exercise intensity determines circulating levels of Lac-Phe and other exerkines: a randomized crossover trial.Metabolomics : Official journal of the Metabolomic Society · 2025Trial
- Acetylcholine enhances deviance detection in Hodgkin-Huxley neuronal networks.Cognitive neurodynamics · 2026Article
- GluD1 is localized at cholinergic synapses and is an acetylcholine receptor.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Article
- SEX-DEPENDENT MODULATION OF WHOLE BRAIN cFOS EXPRESSION BY LIGHT AND MELANOPSIN IN THE MOUSE.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Jangwon-hwan Improves Memory Performance in Mice with Enhanced Cholinergic Signaling and Synaptic Plasticity.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Global brain activity links subcortical degeneration to cortical tau progressively across Braak regions over early Alzheimer's disease stages.Nature communications · 2026Article
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- Full-spectrum cannabidiol-rich oil modulates behavior and neurochemical alterations in a rodent model of maple syrup urine disease.Metabolic brain disease · 2026Article
- Solute carrier membrane transporters: emerging targets in CNS disorders.Nature reviews. Drug discovery · 2026Review
- Basal Forebrain Volume is Associated With Cortical Amyloid Burden in Cognitively Unimpaired Older Adults at Varying Genetic Risk for Alzheimer's Disease.The American journal of geriatric psychiatry. Open science, education, and practice · 2026Article
- Whole-brain cholinergic modulation following computerized cognitive training in healthy older adults: a [18F]FEOBV PET study.GeroScience · 2026Article
- Photocatalytic Radical Functionalization of Alkenylammonium Salts.Precision chemistry · 2026Article
- Neurobiological Mechanisms of Vitamin D in Anxiety: Evidence from Rodent Models and Bioinformatics-Based Target Identification.Nutrients · 2026Review
- Advances in Human Brain Dynamics in a Multimodal, Multitask, Multisensory, and Multi-Timescale Framework.Brain sciences · 2026Article
- Nicotine in Neurodegenerative and Neuropsychiatric Disorders: Mechanisms and Clinical Evidence.Neurochemical research · 2026Review
- Red-shifted GRAB acetylcholine sensors for multiplex imaging in vivo.Nature neuroscience · 2026Article
669 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Acetylcholine in the brain alters neuronal excitability, influences synaptic transmission, induces synaptic plasticity, and coordinates firing of groups of neurons. As a result, it changes the state of neuronal networks throughout the brain and modifies their response to internal and external inputs: the classical role of a neuromodulator. Here, we identify actions of cholinergic signaling on cellular and synaptic properties of neurons in several brain areas and discuss consequences of this signaling on behaviors related to drug abuse, attention, food intake, and affect. The diverse effects of acetylcholine depend on site of release, receptor subtypes, and target neuronal population; however, a common theme is that acetylcholine potentiates behaviors that are adaptive to environmental stimuli and decreases responses to ongoing stimuli that do not require immediate action. The ability of acetylcholine to coordinate the response of neuronal networks in many brain areas makes cholinergic modulation an essential mechanism underlying complex behaviors.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.