Basal and scopolamine-evoked release of hippocampal acetylcholine following traumatic brain injury in rats.

This study employed in vivo microdialysis in awake, freely-moving Sprague-Dawley rats to examine acetylcholine (ACh) release in the dorsal hippocampus at 14 days following lateral controlled cortical impact. Extracellular levels of ACh were measured prior to and after an intraperitoneal administration of scopolamine (1 mg/kg), which evokes ACh release by blocking autoreceptors. At 14 days post injury there were no differences in basal ACh levels. However, injury produced a significant reduction in scopolamine-evoked ACh release. The data suggest that cholinergic neurotransmission remains chronically compromised, and thus may contribute to previously documented post traumatic spatial memory deficits.