Small_2004_Trends.Neurosci_27_245

Studies on neural networks indicate that the pattern of amnesia that occurs in Alzheimer's disease (AD) can be reproduced by synaptic loss, but only when this loss is accompanied by synaptic scaling, a homeostatic mechanism that maintains the level of excitatory input on postsynaptic neurons. It is suggested that increased cholinergic activity during the early stages of AD contributes to synaptic scaling and that acetylcholinesterase inhibitors improve cognition in AD patients by boosting this mechanism.