Abstract
Acetylcholine was the first chemical to be identified and proven as a neurotransmitter. It was in fact acetylcholine which was released in response to stimulation of the vagus nerve in the experiments by Loewi described in Chapter 1. Subsequent studies showed that acetylcholine acts as a neurotransmitter at the following sites in the body:
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(1)
all preganglionic nerve terminals (both parasympathetic and sympathetic) of the autonomic nervous system (ANS); i.e. autonomic ganglia;
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(2)
all postganglionic parasympathetic nerve terminals;
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(3)
the neuromuscular junction (of voluntary nerve to skeletal muscle);
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(4)
the adrenal medulla;
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(5)
the central nervous system (CNS);
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(6)
postganglionic sympathetic nerve terminals at sweat glands.
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Further Reading
Bowen, D.M. & Davison, A.N. (1980) ‘Biochemistry of Alzheimers Disease’ in The Biochemistry of Psychiatric Disturbances, (ed. G. Curzon), Wiley, Chichester and New York, pp. 113–28
Bowman, W.C. & Rand, M.J. (1980) Textbook of Pharmacology, Chapter 17 on ‘Neuromuscular Transmission’, Blackwell, Oxford
Day, M.D. (1979) Autonomic Pharmacology, Churchill Livingstone, Edinburgh
Drachman, D.B. (1981) ‘The Biology of Myasthenia Gravis’. Ann. Rev. Neurosci., 4, 195–225
Gundersen, C.B. (1980) ‘The Effects of Botulinum Toxin on the Synthesis, Storage and Release of Acetylcholine’, Prog. Neurobiol, 14, 99–119
Heilbronn, E. & Stalberg, E. (1978) ‘The Pathogenesis of Myasthenia Gravis’, Ann. Rev. Pharmacol, 20, 337–62
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© 1983 Zygmunt L. Kruk and Christopher J. Pycock
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Kruk, Z.L., Pycock, C.J. (1983). Acetylcholine. In: Neurotransmitters and Drugs. Croom Helm Biology in Medicine Series. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-7517-7_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-7517-7_2
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