Neurotransmitter Systems in Hippocampus and Prelimbic Cortex, Dopamine-Acetylcholine Interactions in Hippocampus, and Memory in the Rat

Parallel processing across neural systems: Implications for a multiple memory system hypothesis

“…Within hippocampus, dopamine may determine the duration of synaptic plasticity since application of D1 and D2 receptor agonists produce long lasting activation and inhibition, respectively, of CA1 pyramidal neuron firing rates (Smialowski & Bijak, 1987). In addition to direct effects on pyramidal neurons, dopamine may have indirect effects in hippocampus by increasing acetylcholine release (Brito, 1992) , which in turn may regulate the stabilization of place representations in new environments . Indeed, recent evidence suggests a possible role for acetylcholine in regulating the relative contributions of hippocampus and striatum during different forms of learning (Chang & Gold, 2003;Gold, 2003).…”