BDNF and Cognitive impairment: In genetically susceptible mouse models, inducing cholinergic degeneration can exacerbate the production and/or accumulation of Aβ, and cause cognitive impairment (Gil-Bea et al., 2012; Laursen et al., 2013; Ramos-Rodriguez et al., 2013; Hartig et al., 2014), as well as resulting in reduced levels of BDNF, another feature of AD (Egan et al., 2003; Tapia-Arancibia et al., 2008; Fahnestock, 2011).