Neuroscience
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Section I:
Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology

11. Acetylcholine Neurotransmission
Part 7 of 8

Jack C. Waymire, Ph.D.

Anatomy
Cell Biology
Physiology
Behavior and Clinical

Physiology

Nicotinic receptor activation causes the opening of the channel formed by the receptor. This increases the Na+ movement into the target cell, leading to depolarization and generation of the action potential. This rapidly developing change, termed a fast EPSP, is illustrated in Figures 4.3, 6.2,
Figure 11.15

Rapid depolarization of the cell by nicotinic receptor activation.

Muscarinic receptor activation of postsynaptic cells can be either excitatory or inhibitory and is always slow in onset and long in duration (Table I). Figure 11.16 and Figure 11.17 illustrate an excitatory and an inhibitory postsynaptic potential in the sympathetic ganglion. As described earlier, G protein activation underlies all actions of the muscarinic receptors, thus accounting for their slow onset.



Figure 11.16
Figure 11.17
Slow EPSP and IPSP form the sympathetic ganglion of the rat

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