General features of crystal structures of halide salts of cholinergic stimulants can be interpreted in terms of substrate-receptor interactions. The monoatomic counterions in the crystal structures are discussed as models for the binding site of the receptor with respect to the ammonium group of the cholinergic neurotransmitters. In the crystal structures the anions occupy the tetrahedral faces...

Histamine, acting centrally as a neurotransmitter, evokes a reversal of haemorrhagic shock in rats due to the activation of the sympathetic and the renin-angiotensin systems as well as the release of arginine vasopressin and proopiomelanocortin-derived peptides. In the present study, we demonstrate influences of cholinergic receptor antagonists on the central histamine-induced resuscitating act...

Cholinergic agonists have previously been shown to augment the ability of sensitized lymphocytes to injure cells bearing the sensitizing alleantigens. The cholinergic receptor of the attacking lymphocyte population has been studied with pharmacological manipulation of an in vitro system that quantitates the injury mediated by sensitized attacking cells upon target cells. The data reveal that mu...

Striatal cholinergic interneurons are critical elements of the striatal circuitry controlling motor planning, movement, and associative learning. Intrastriatal release of dopamine and inhibition of interneuron activity is thought to be a critical link between behaviorally relevant events, such as reward, and alterations in striatal function. However, the mechanisms mediating this modulation are...

BACKGROUND Victims of organophosphate intoxication with cholinergic crisis may have need for sedation and anesthesia, but little is known about how anesthetics work in these patients. Recent studies suggest that cholinergic stimulation impairs gamma-aminobutyric acid type A (GABAA) receptor function. Because GABAA receptors are major targets of general anesthetics, the authors investigated inte...

The hippocampal slice preparation was used to classify cholinergic effects in terms of muscarinic receptor subtypes (M1 or M2) and biochemical effector systems linked to these effects in CA1 pyramidal cells. Based on the action of the M1 antagonist pirenzepine and the M2 antagonist gallamine, the muscarinic-induced membrane depolarization and blockade of the afterhyperpolarization appear to res...

Egg-laying behavior in Caenorhabditis elegans is regulated by multiple neurotransmitters, including acetylcholine and serotonin. Agonists of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors such as nicotine and levamisole stimulate egg laying; however, the genetic and molecular basis for cholinergic neurotransmission in the egg-laying circuitry is not well understood. Here we describe the egg-laying phenotype...