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Acetylcholine is the primary neurotransmitter of the parasympathetic nervous system. [2] [3] In the brain, acetylcholine functions as a neurotransmitter and as a neuromodulator. The brain contains a number of cholinergic areas, each with distinct functions; such as playing an important role in arousal, attention, memory and motivation. [4]
Based on prior research showing that "acetylcholine's actions on structural proteins" were responsible for nerve impulses, Nachmansohn and Machado investigated the origin of acetylcholine. [7] An enzyme has been extracted from brain and nervous tissue which forms acetylcholine. The formation occurs only in presence of adenosinetriphosphate (ATP ...
A cholinergic neuron is a nerve cell which mainly uses the neurotransmitter acetylcholine (ACh) to send its messages. Many neurological systems are cholinergic.Cholinergic neurons provide the primary source of acetylcholine to the cerebral cortex, and promote cortical activation during both wakefulness and rapid eye movement sleep. [1]
Acetylcholine also operates in many regions of the brain as a neuromodulatory, but using different types of receptors, including nicotinic and muscarinic receptors. [26] Dopamine has a number of important functions in the brain.
Acetylcholine is known to promote wakefulness in the basal forebrain. Stimulating the basal forebrain gives rise to acetylcholine release, which induces wakefulness and REM sleep, whereas inhibition of acetylcholine release in the basal forebrain by adenosine causes slow wave sleep.
The resulting decrease in acetylcholine in the brain is thought to contribute to the decline in mental function of affected patients. [ 3 ] [ 2 ] For this reason, most currently available pharmacological treatments for dementia focus on compensating for faltering function of the nucleus basalis through artificially increasing acetylcholine levels.
Illustration of the brain and spinal cord connecting to a muscle, illustrating the connection between the central and peripheral nervous system. Major neuromodulators in the central nervous system include: dopamine , serotonin , acetylcholine , histamine , norepinephrine , nitric oxide , and several neuropeptides .
Choline is a direct precursor of acetylcholine (ACh), a neurotransmitter of the central and peripheral nervous system that regulates a variety of autonomic, cognitive, and motor functions. SLC5A7 is a Na(+)- and Cl(-)- dependent high-affinity transporter that mediates the uptake of choline for acetylcholine synthesis in cholinergic neurons. [5] [6]