Abstract
The synapse plays a key role in the nervous system and it is likely that biochemical changes at the synapse underlie some aspects of higher brain function. Most plausible theories of learning, pattern recognition and memory depend upon changes in the efficiency of chemical synapses and changes in the ion channels involved in altering and maintaining the membrane potential, Hopfield 1982. It seems unlikely that these theories will be testable until we have learned more about the structure, function and regulation of receptor and ion channel molecules. It is also now known that receptors can be directly implicated in human disease. Myasthenia gravis is an auto-immune disease involving the production of antibodies against the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor present in skeletal muscle, Patrick and Lindstrom 1973. Degenerative diseases of the brain such as Parkinson’s, Huntington’s and Alzheimer’s disease may involve a breakdown in one or more transmitter systems, Perry et al, 1987.
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Heinemann, S. et al. (1988). The Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Gene Family. In: Clementi, F., Gotti, C., Sher, E. (eds) Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors in the Nervous System. NATO ASI Series, vol 25. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-74167-8_14
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