Dopamine D2-agonist Rotigotine effects on cortical excitability and central cholinergic transmission in Alzheimer's disease patients

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter involved in several brain functions ranging from emotions control,movement organization to memory formation. It is also involved in the regulation of mechanisms ofsynaptic plasticity. However, its role in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathogenesis is still puzzling. Severalrecent line of research instead indicates a clear role for dopamine in both amyloidbformation as well asin cognitive decline progression. In particular it has been shown that dopamine D2-like receptors(namely D3and D2) could be mostly responsible for dopamine dysfunction in AD. Here we aimed to studythe effects of the dopamine agonist Rotigotine on cortical excitability and on central cholinergic trans-mission in cases of AD