α7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor A Potential Target in Treating Cognitive Decline in Schizophrenia

Purpose: The aim of this article is to review the recent trials of alpha 7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (alpha 7 nAChR) agonists and positive allosteric modulators (PAMs) on the treatment of cognitive decline in schizophrenia alpha 7 Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor abnormalities in schizophrenia and clinical implications of alpha 7 nAChR agonists and PAMs are also discussed. Procedures: Studies were searched on PubMed with keywords "nicotinic," "alpha7," and "schizophrenia" over a 2-year period: January 1, 2016, to December 1, 2017. Cognition was not included in key terms in order to broaden the results. Inclusion criteria included (1) article categorization as a clinical study, review, or journal article; (2) schizophrenia diagnosis based on Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders criteria; (3) article in English; (4) objective measure of cognition from effects of alpha 7 nAChR agonists/PAMs; and (5) article currently published. Findings: A total of 76 studies were found over the past 2 years. Fifteen of these studies were included in this review. Human studies were limited. Cognitive-related improvements in rodent models were found across the 6 cognitive constructs: perception, executive functioning, social and affective processes, working memory, and long-term memory.