CHRNA7 and dementia: By contrast, activation of α7 nAChRs has been demonstrated to enhance neuronal resistance to ischemia and other insults in in vivo, ex vivo and in vitro experimental models [6,25–39], as well as improved cognitive performance in patients and animal models of neurodegenerative conditions including dementia, schizophrenia, brain trauma and aging [14,26,31,39–61].