Cholinergic system nucleus basalis

Wenk, G. L. (1997). The nucleus basalis magnocellularis cholinergic system one hundred years of progress. Neurobiol. Learn. Mem. 67, 85-95. 

It was suggested that cognitive dysfunction in PD, similarly to AD results from loss of cholinergic neurons in the nucleus basalis Meynert (Whitehouse, 1981). However, it was reported by Perry et al. (1985) that dementia in this disease usually occurs in the absence of substantial Alzheimer type changes in the cortex and may be related to abnormalities in the cortical cholinergic system. 

In the peripheral nervous system, ACh is found as the neurotransmitter in the autonomic ganglia, the parasympathetic postganglionic synapse, and the neuromuscular endplate. Cholinergic neurons in the central nervous system are either wide ranging projection neurons or short ranging interneurons in (1) the basal forebrain (septum, diagonal band, nucleus basalis of Meynert) projects to the entire cortex, the hippocampus,... 

The nucleus basalis of Meynert, located in the basal forebrain, is the main location of the cholinergic neurons. The cholinergic neurons project to the amygdala, hippocampus and other parts of the neocortex. Additional cholinergic neurons in the reticular system also project to the cerebral cortex, the limbic system, the hypothalamus, and the thalamus. Acetylcholine is... 

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