Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28823679›Full record

ArticleCurrent biology : CB2017

Intermittent Stimulation of the Nucleus Basalis of Meynert Improves Working Memory in Adult Monkeys.

Ruifeng Liu, Jonathan Crawford, Patrick M Callahan, Alvin V Terry, Christos Constantinidis, David T Blake

Registry-linked trialOpen access · bronzeAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Current biology : CB, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07218081 (Cognitive Brain Aging Reversal From Deep Brain Stimulation for Alzheimer's Dementia), which is not on this map. Cited by 38 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
38citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
3.0field-weighted citation impact, top 8% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

NCT07218081 phase1recruitingnot on this mapstarted 2026, after this paper: background citation

Cognitive Brain Aging Reversal From Deep Brain Stimulation for Alzheimer's Dementia: a Clinical Trial.

TypeinterventionalSponsorAugusta UniversityRan2026 to 2028Enrolled12ConditionsAlzheimer Dementia (AD)ArmsIntermittent deep brain stimulation of the nucleus basalis of Meynert
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

38 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 78 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. Review
  7. Basal forebrain activation improves working memory in senescent monkeys.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024
    Article
  8. Cholinergic Neuromodulation of Prefrontal Attractor Dynamics Controls Performance in Spatial Working Memory.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2024
    Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Review
  15. Review
  16. Review
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

Ruifeng LiuState Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China; Brain and Behavior Discovery Institute, Department of Neurology, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, 1120 15th Street, Augusta, GA 30912, USA.
Jonathan CrawfordBrain and Behavior Discovery Institute, Department of Neurology, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, 1120 15th Street, Augusta, GA 30912, USA.
Patrick M CallahanDepartment of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, 1120 15th Street, Augusta, GA 30912, USA.
Alvin V TerryDepartment of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, 1120 15th Street, Augusta, GA 30912, USA.
Christos ConstantinidisDepartment of Neurobiology and Anatomy, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA.
David T BlakeBrain and Behavior Discovery Institute, Department of Neurology, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, 1120 15th Street, Augusta, GA 30912, USA. Electronic address: dblake.mcg@gmail.com.
Augusta University · USDiscovery Institute · USSun Yat-sen University · CNWake Forest University · US

Funding

NEUROMODULATOR INFLUENCES ON PREFRONTAL CORTICAL FUNCTIONR01MH097695 · NIMH · WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES · PI BLAKE, DAVID T, CONSTANTINIDIS, CHRISTOS · 2013 to 2017
$1.9M
NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH097695
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Acetylcholine in the neocortex is critical for executive function [1-3]. Degeneration of cholinergic neurons in aging and Alzheimer's dementia is commonly treated with cholinesterase inhibitors [4-7]; however, these are modestly effective and are associated with side effects that preclude effective dosing in many patients [8]. Electrical activation of the nucleus basalis (NB) of Meynert, the source of neocortical acetylcholine [9, 10], provides a potential method of improving cholinergic activation [11, 12]. Here we tested whether NB stimulation would improve performance of a working memory task in a nonhuman primate model. Unexpectedly, intermittent stimulation proved to be most beneficial (60 pulses per second, for 20 s every minute), whereas continuous stimulation often impaired performance. Pharmacological experiments confirmed that the effects depended on cholinergic activation. Donepezil, a cholinesterase inhibitor, restored performance in animals impaired by continuous stimulation but did not improve performance further during intermittent stimulation. Intermittent stimulation was rendered ineffective by either nicotinic or muscarinic receptor antagonists. In the months after stimulation began, performance also improved in sessions without stimulation. Our results reveal that intermittent NB stimulation can improve working memory, a finding that has implications for restoring cognitive function in aging and Alzheimer's dementia.

Indexed as

AnimalsBasal Nucleus of MeynertElectric StimulationFemaleMacaca mulattaMaleMemory, Short-TermAlzheimer’sdeep brain stimulationexecutive functionnonhuman primateNucleus Basalis of Meynertworking memory

Identifiers

PMID28823679
PMCPMC5759307
OpenAlexW2747152059

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

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.