Though knockout of the α7 nAChR subunit does not affect gross neurological function (Orr-Urtreger et al., 1997) or performance on the 5CSRTT (Grottick and Higgins, 2000; Howe et al., 2010; Guillem et al., 2011), recent evidence suggests that activating α7 nAChRs may alleviate the cognitive impairments associated with Alzheimer’s disease and schizophrenia (Levin, 2013). The gene discussed is CHRNA7; the disease is schizophrenia.