Bradanicline is a potent and highly selective agonist of the α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) with an EC50 of 17 nM and a Ki of 1.4 nM for the human α7 nAChR. It is primarily employed in research pertaining to cognitive disorders [1] [2].

Bradanicline demonstrates a significant distinction, with over a thousand-fold difference in affinity towards α7 and α4β2 receptor subtypes, without any observable impact on muscle or ganglionic nicotinic receptor subtypes. This indicates a pronounced selectivity for the central nervous system as opposed to the peripheral nervous system [1].

Bradanicline (0.1-1 mg/kg) effectively mitigates positive and negative symptoms, along with cognitive impairments, related to schizophrenia in animal models [2].