Tanase_2022_J.Pharmacol.Sci_148_364

We examined whether galantamine (GAL), a cholinesterase inhibitor and allosteric potentiating ligand for alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR), had an impact on emotional abnormalities in forebrain-specific cholecystokinin receptor-2 overexpressed transgenic mice. Treatment with GAL (1 mg/kg, s.c.) attenuated the decrease of social interaction time, but failed to attenuate anxiety-like behavior in the elevated plus-maze test. The effect of GAL was blocked by an alpha7 nAChR antagonist, methyllycaconitine (3 mg/kg, i.p.). These results suggest that GAL improved social interaction impairments via alpha7 nAChR and could be useful to treat sociability-related emotional abnormalities.