Neurobiological impact of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonists: an activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis of pharmacologic neuroimaging studies

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#brain #brain-mapping #humans #likelihood-functions #magnetic-resonance-imaging

Neurobiological impact of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonists: an activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis of pharmacologic neuroimaging studies

Sutherland et al., 2015 | Biol Psychiatry | Meta Analysis

Citation

Sutherland Matthew T, Ray Kimberly L, ... Laird Angela R. Neurobiological impact of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonists: an activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis of pharmacologic neuroimaging studies. Biol Psychiatry. 2015-Nov-15;78(10):711-20. doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2014.12.021

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) agonists augment cognition among cigarette smokers and nonsmokers, yet the systems-level neurobiological mechanisms underlying such improvements are not fully understood. Aggregating neuroimaging results regarding nAChR agonists provides a means to identify common functional brain changes that may be related to procognitive drug effects. METHODS: We conducted a meta-analysis of pharmacologic neuroimaging studies within the activation likelihood estimation framework. We identified published studies contrasting a nAChR drug condition versus a baseline and coded each contrast by activity change direction (decrease or increase), participant characteristics (smokers or nonsmokers), and drug manipulation employed (pharmacologic administration or cigarette smoking). RESULTS: When considering all studies, nAChR agonist administration was associated with activity decreases in multiple regions, including the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), parahippocampus, insula, and the parietal and precentral cortices. Conversely, activity increases were observed in lateral frontoparietal cortices, the anterior cingulate cortex, thalamus, and cuneus. Exploratory analyses indicated that both smokers and nonsmokers showed activity decreases in the vmPFC and PCC, and increases in lateral frontoparietal regions. Among smokers, both pharmacologic administration and cigarette smoking were associated with activity decreases in the vmPFC, PCC, and insula and increases in the lateral PFC, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, thalamus, and cuneus. CONCLUSIONS: These results provide support for the systems-level perspective that nAChR agonists suppress activity in default-mode network regions and enhance activity in executive control network regions in addition to reducing activation of some task-related regions. We speculate these are potential mechanisms by which nAChR agonists enhance cognition.

Key Findings

When considering all studies, nAChR agonist administration was associated with activity decreases in multiple regions, including the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), parahippocampus, insula, and the parietal and precentral cortices. Conversely, activity increases were observed in lateral frontoparietal cortices, the anterior cingulate cortex, thalamus, and cuneus. Exploratory analyses indicated that both smokers and nonsmokers showed activity decreases in

Outcomes Measured

  • Requires manual extraction

Population

Field Value
Population See abstract
Sample Size See abstract
Age Range See abstract
Condition cognitive

MeSH Terms

  • Brain
  • Brain Mapping
  • Humans
  • Likelihood Functions
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Nicotinic Agonists
  • Positron-Emission Tomography
  • Receptors, Nicotinic
  • Smoking

Evidence Classification

  • Level: Meta Analysis
  • Publication Types: Journal Article, Meta-Analysis, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural, Research Support, N.I.H., Intramural
  • Vertical: niacin

Provenance

Source extracted via PubMed E-utilities API on 2026-04-09