Definition
Acetylcholine has been identified as a neurotransmitter substance since the mid-1920s. It is the neurotransmitter substance present at the neuromuscular junction and also innervates structures of the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems (Feldman, Meyer, & Quenzer, 1997; Iversen, Iversen, Bloom, & Roth, 2009). In the brain, cholinergic neurons have a wide distribution. Projections emanate from the basal forebrain in the medial septal nucleus and terminate in the hippocampus and limbic cortex. Among other areas receiving cholinergic input are the neocortex, olfactory bulbs, amygdala, neostriatum (caudate nucleus and putamen), the hypothalamus, and various regions in the brain stem (Feldman et al., 1997).
Acetylcholine is synthesized from the precursors Acetyl CoA and choline in a chemical reaction involving the catalytic enzyme, choline acetyltransferase (ChAT). The presence of this enzyme has been used as a marker to locate cholinergic neurons. Acetylcholine...
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References and Readings
Feldman, R. S., Meyer, J. S., & Quenzer, L. F. (1997). Acetylcholine. In Principles of neuropsychoparhmacology (pp. 246–249). Sunderland, MA: Sinauer Associates.
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Tschanz, J.T., Treiber, K. (2011). Acetylcholine. In: Kreutzer, J.S., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-79948-3_1622
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