News tagged with acetylcholine

Nicotine may have more profound impact than previously thought

Nicotine isn't just addictive. It may also interfere with dozens of cellular interactions in the body, new Brown University research suggests.

Medicine & Health / Medical research

created Apr 03, 2009 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (7) | comments 3

Scientists discover brain's inherent ability to focus learning

Medical researchers have found a missing link that explains the interaction between brain state and the neural triggers responsible for learning, potentially opening up new ways of boosting cognitive function ...

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Dec 08, 2010 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (7) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Plant-derived scavengers prowl the body for nerve toxins

The brain is forever chattering to itself, via electrical impulses sent along its hard-wired neuronal "Ethernet." These e-messages are translated into chemical transmissions, allowing communication across ...

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Nov 23, 2010 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Common medication associated with cognitive decline in elderly

A study published in Journal of the American Geriatrics Society suggested that the use of certain medications in elderly populations may be associated with cognitive decline. The study examined the effects of exposure to ant ...

Medicine & Health / Medications

created Jan 26, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (6) | comments 0

Light now in sight: Control of a 'blind' neuroreceptor with an optical switch

When nerve cells communicate with one another, specialized receptor molecules on their surfaces play a central role in relaying signals between them. A collaborative venture involving teams of chemists based at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat ...

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Jan 10, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

First compound for receptors in schizophrenia and Alzheimer's holds promise

For almost 20 years, pharmacological companies have known that certain compounds that activate two specific CNS receptors, causing them to release the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, are effective in treating the cognitive ...

Medicine & Health / Medical research

created Apr 20, 2009 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Alzheimer's drug boosts perceptual learning in healthy adults

Research on a drug commonly prescribed to Alzheimer's disease patients is helping neuroscientists at the University of California, Berkeley, better understand perceptual learning in healthy adults.

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Sep 16, 2010 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (3) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

New biosensors reveal workings of anti-psychotic drugs in the living brain

Scientists have resolved a question about how a popular class of drugs used to treat schizophrenia works using biosensors that reveal previously hidden components of chemical communication in the brain.

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Dec 13, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Crystal clear: Eureka! moment leads to major breakthroughs in structural biology

(PhysOrg.com) -- Tuning out the noise of fellow passengers and the incessant hum of the turbojet engine, Lin Chen pored voraciously over the pages of James Watson's The Double Helix. The words and ideas flowed ...

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Jul 19, 2010 | popularity 4 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Researchers find tiny genetic change keeps nicotine from binding to muscle cells

A tiny genetic mutation is the key to understanding why nicotine--which binds to brain receptors with such addictive potency--is virtually powerless in muscle cells that are studded with the same type of receptor. ...

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Mar 23, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Nicotine binding to receptor linked to breast cancer cell growth

When nicotine binds to the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAchR), it is known to promote smoking addiction and may also directly promote the development of breast cancer, according to a study published online August 23 ...

Medicine & Health / Cancer

created Aug 23, 2010 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Smoking during pregnancy may harm the child's motor control and coordination

Women who smoke during pregnancy run the risk of adversely affecting their children’s coordination and physical control according to a new study from Orebro University, Sweden, published in the Journal of Epidemiology an ...

Medicine & Health / Health

created Sep 22, 2010 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Promising new treatment for Alzheimer's suggested

Research carried out at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has resulted in a promising approach to help treat Alzheimer's disease in a significant proportion of the population that suffers from a particularly rapid development ...

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Jul 20, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Acetylcholine

The chemical compound acetylcholine (often abbreviated ACh) is a neurotransmitter in both the peripheral nervous system (PNS) and central nervous system (CNS) in many organisms including humans. Acetylcholine is one of many neurotransmitters in the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and the only neurotransmitter used in the motor division of the somatic nervous system (sensory neurons use glutamate and various peptides at their synapses). Acetylcholine is also the principal neurotransmitter in all autonomic ganglia.

Acetylcholine slows the heart rate when functioning as an inhibitory neurotransmitter. However, acetylcholine also behaves as an excitatory neurotransmitter at neuromuscular junctions.

For more information about Acetylcholine, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.