FEOBV and auditory training

The cholinergic system functions as a gating mechanism that enhances attention and thus regulates adult neuroplasticity. Aging, however, is associated with a progressive degeneration of the cholinergic system that impairs the acquisition of skills acquired through learning or during functional recovery following neurological injury. Although cognitive training and perceptual learning have been shown to enhance auditory cortical processing, their specific impact on the cholinergic system remains unknown. Here we used [18F]-FEOBV, a positron-emission tomography (PET) radioligand that selectively binds to the vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT), as a proxy to assess whether training on a perceptual task results in increased cholinergic neurotransmission. We show, for the first time, that perceptual learning is associated with region-specific changes in cholinergic neurotransmission detected by [18F]-FEOBV PET imaging, and corroborated with immunohistochemistry.

胆碱能系统作为一种调控机制，能够增强注意力，从而调节成年神经可塑性。然而，随着年龄的增长，胆碱能系统的逐渐退化与通过学习获得的技能习得或神经系统损伤后的功能恢复过程中的技能习得受损相关。尽管认知训练和感知学习已被证明可以增强听觉皮层处理能力，但它们对胆碱能系统的具体影响尚不明确。在本研究中，我们利用[18F]-FEOBV，一种选择性结合囊泡乙酰胆碱转运蛋白（VAChT）的正电子发射断层扫描（PET）放射性配体，作为评估感知任务训练是否导致胆碱能神经递质传递增加的替代指标。我们首次发现，感知学习与通过[18F]-FEOBV PET成像检测到的特定区域胆碱能神经递质传递的改变相关，并经免疫组化证实。